Beijing (VNA) – Cooperation in economy, trade, agriculture and logisticsbetween Vietnam and China was highlighted at a seminar in Chengdu, the capitalcity of China’s Sichuan province, on June 13.

Theevent, hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in China in coordination with Sichuan’sauthorities, brought together representatives of nearly 200 businesses alongwith government officials from the two countries.

Inhis opening remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi affirmed that Chinais one of Vietnam’s most important trade and investment partners with bilateraltrade reaching 147.8 billion USD in 2018, up 21.2 percent year-on-year.

Heemphasized opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises and localities in Chengdu -a big economic, financial, technological and cultural centre in western China witha population of nearly 91 million, gross domestic product (GDP) at 600 billionUSD and a growth rate of 8 percent in 2018. 

Chengduis the gateway to China’s western region, he said, urging Sichuan province andVietnam to further promote their bridging role in cooperation between China andthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and better optimise opportunitiesgenerated by the upgrading of the ASEAN-China free trade agreement.

Sichuan’sVice Governor Li Yunze spoke highly of the cooperation outcomes across spheres,especially economy, trade and agriculture between Vietnam and China in general,and Vietnam and Sichuan province in particular.

Heexpressed hope for enhanced exchanges and result-oriented collaboration withVietnamese localities in education, culture, health care and tourism.

Vietnamand Sichuan should expand their trade ties and promote their cooperation inlogistics, towards forming inter-regional logistics chains, he said.

LiYunze pledged to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to operatein Sichuan, and encourage high-quality businesses from Sichuan to invest inVietnam.
VietnameseDeputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh introducedVietnam’s advantages and potential for high-quality agricultural production,saying the country’s agro-forestry-fishery products have been exported to over180 markets worldwide.

Chinais one of the major and traditional importers of Vietnamese farm produce, hesaid, noting that to increase the export of agro-forestry-fishery products toChina, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has instructedcompetent agencies and localities to focus on measures to meet quality and foodsafety requirements of the Chinese market.

Followingthe seminar, the delegation of the MARD, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’snorthern mountainous province of Thai Nguyen and Vietnamese businesses visited someeconomic, commercial, agricultural and logistics facilities in Sichuan.-VNA