Vietnam and China have agreed to boost the bilateral trade to US$15 billion by 2010, heard at a meeting in Nanning October 27 between Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zeng Peiyan and visiting Premier Nguyen Tan Dung.
Vietnamese PM Dung makes the trip to the provincial capital of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to attend the ASEAN-China investment-trade fair and summit.
The Vietnamese leader affirmed that the economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and China has recently represented a sharp increase, and Guangxi plays an important role in boosting the two nations’ development.
Deputy PM Zeng, for his part, agreed that China will push up the export of machinery to Vietnam and increase its import of crude oil, coal and rubber from Vietnam.
The two leaders said that a treaty on animal and plant quarantine is needed to facilitate both sides’ import-export, contributing to a trade balance between the two neighboring countries.
The PM Dung affirmed the host that China is one of the leading trade partner and important foreign investor of Vietnam, in particular and of ASEAN members, in general. Dung expressed his belief that the ASEAN-China trade would reach US$200 billion in 2008.
“The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) will become the biggest FTA in the world in term of population scale and bring in huge opportunities for both sides,” Dung noted at the launching ceremony of the 4th ASEAN-China Trade Summit October 28.
Dung affirmed at the ceremony his country will actively contribute to be a bridge linking Vietnam and ASEAN.
The trade value between Vietnam and ASEAN nations hit $20 billion in 2006. ASEAN investors have to date run 1,000 projects valued at $13 billion in Vietnam. The country also has invested $1 billion into 120 projects in ASEAN members.
Meanwhile, Chinese enterprises have so far invested over 500 projects valued at $1.5 billion in Vietnam. The two way trade is estimated to hit $13-14 billion this year.
The PM Dung is scheduled to leave Nanning today to pay official visits to provinces of Guangxi and Yunan. (VNA, The People, Labor)
Vietnamese
