General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese President Tô Lâm‘s three-day visit to China, beginning on August 18th, is his first trip abroad since assuming office. “This says a lot about the great importance that he attaches to the relations between the two parties and countries,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In terms of economic and trade cooperation, Lâm’s visit is strategically significant. Both China and Vietnam have accomplished much over the years to improve the livelihoods and well-being of their people.
China continues to be Vietnam’s top trading partner and its second-largest export market, and it has streamlined access procedures for Vietnamese agricultural products. Trade in goods between the two countries crossed $200bn in 2023, and Chinese enterprises are likely to expand their investment footprint in Vietnam. General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping made a landmark visit to Vietnam last year, giving momentum to the relationship.
Building on this momentum will further entrench economic and trade cooperation as a hallmark of China-Vietnam relations, create new access points for export firms, and help both countries chart an even stronger consensus on common development.
This year, bilateral trade reportedly hit nearly $100bn in the first six months, and Vietnam continues to be China’s largest trading partner within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This progression should be assessed against the backdrop of Xi’s visit to Vietnam in 2023, which resulted in joint commitments to boost long-term cooperation targets.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world’s largest trading bloc of which both China and Vietnam are members, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and the China Import and Export Fair, China’s oldest trade fair held annually in Canton in the south, are all promising avenues to increase the competitiveness of market products and promote trade growth. Lâm’s visit is an occasion for both sides to take stock of these achievements, promote a common vision for aligning markets, and increase favourable exposure for their local industries and manufacturers. Over the years, Vietnam and China’s economic engagement has been driven by considerable multisector interests. There are already formal agreements in the digital economy, green cooperation, and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), indicating wide potential to share common development benefits.
For instance, China’s rapid modernization and opening up have proven advantageous to Vietnam’s economy, aiding the latter’s renewable energy power generation, and improving electricity access and employment prospects for the Vietnamese. The BRI International Green Development Coalition provides more openings to fast-track shared clean energy goals, while industrial parks and special economic zones continue to attract a growing share of Chinese-funded companies. All this creates opportunities to bolster foreign direct investment and industry-driven employment through joint efforts.
Both leaders can take new measures to expand future bilateral trade. This was a major factor in elevating the Chinese-Vietnamese comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership last year, and Chinese investment in key industries such as textiles has impacted Vietnam’s local industrial chains favourably.
As Vietnam’s sixth-largest source of foreign direct investment, China enjoys considerable familiarity with local market conditions and is a trusted development partner across a multitude of active projects. Thus, new synergies between the BRI and the Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy, proposed to enhance economic cooperation, especially between the two countries’ border regions, can add to these strong points and accelerate a common vision for people-centric development.
Keeping China and Vietnam’s substantive trade and economic cooperation in mind, Lâm’s visit is expected to play a crucial role in expanding future investments, fast-tracking development projects, and promoting new directions for trade and industrial cooperation.
Originally published on CGTN.
