HCM City (VNA) – A seminar was held in Ho Chi Minh City on June28 to seek ways to further boost trade between Vietnam and China, includingbetween HCM City and Shandong province, which are said to have great potentialfor stronger cooperation.

Nguyen The Hung, Deputy Director of the HCM Citybranch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI-HCM), saideconomic and trade ties between the two countries have grown fruitfully overthe past years and China is currently the biggest trade partner of Vietnam.Bilateral trade reached 71.6 billion USD in 2016, including nearly 22 billionUSD of Vietnam’s exports.

Vietnam mainly ships crude oil, coal, computersand components, rubber, rice, vegetables, fruits and aquatic products to China,while importing machinery, equipment, spare parts, apparel and footwearmaterials, steel and fertilizer from the country.

Hung said HCM City is a strategic economiccentre of Vietnam and an attractive destination for foreign enterprises,including those from China. With dynamism and a big population, the city isalso a potential consumption market.

The VCCI-HCM and the administration ofShandong’s Qingdao city also signed a memorandum of understanding on economiccooperation which will be a foundation for the two localities to boostbilateral trade and investment in the years ahead, Hung added.

Wong Chen Wei, a representative of DeloitteVietnam, said Vietnam has offered a number of incentives for foreign investors.Favourable conditions have been also provided for businesses operating in theprioritised fields such as the supporting and hi-tech industries, autoassembly, electronics, leather-footwear and textiles-garment.

These are advantages that help the countryattracts much attention from foreign investors, including those from China, hesaid.

Zhai Luning, vice president of the Shandongprovincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference,said Vietnam is an important economic and trade partner of China in general andShandong in particular. The trade value between Vietnam and Shandong amountedto 28.5 billion USD in 2016.

Zhai told participants that Shandong is one ofthe most developed provinces in China, and it holds advantages in producingmachinery, steel, equipment and agricultural products, but has high demand forelectronics, fresh and dried fruits, rubber, oil and gas from Vietnam.

With mutually-complementary advantages, Shandongand Vietnam, and HCM City in particular, still have much potential for strongercooperation and increased trade in the coming time, she added.-VNA