As many as 24 projects worth US$723 million were concluded at the Vietnam-Guangdong (China) Economic Commercial Cooperation Forum recently held in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
The forum was jointly held by Guangdong province’s authorities, the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, the Guangdong Economic and Trade Committee, the Guangdong Department for External Economic Cooperation and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). This is the largest forum of China’s Guangdong province in Vietnam to date.
Addressing at the forum, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem stressed that this was a valuable opportunity for enterprises of the two countries to introduce potentialities, advantages and business needs, and reaffirmed the Vietnamese Government’s respect for relations with China. ““Vietnam will do its best to further develop this relationship, including efforts to boost economic, commercial and investment ties with Guangdong province, China ” Khiem said.
Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Sun Guo Xiang affirmed the Chinese Government has always encouraged Guangdong businesses to operate and invest in Vietnam. He also pledged to help businesses from the both sides achieve their targets in the coming period.
Governor of Guangdong province, Huang Huahua, said, after 30 years of strong opening and reform, Guangdong has become an area with the most dynamic economy, the largest production output, the highest technological and scientific quality and the largest investment capital recipient in China.
In 2008, the province’s GDP reached US$530 billion. At present, Guangdong is one of the largest Chinese traders with Vietnam.
According to Mr Hua, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Guangdong has made positive progress in recent years. Average import-export growth from 2006 to 2008 stood at 44.2 per cent while two-way trade turnover in 2008 reached US$3.36 billion, accounting for one-sixth of the total Vietnam-China trade value.
Despite impact of the global economic crisis, the two-way trade between Vietnam and Guangdong in the first eight months of this year was estimated at US$2.67 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 25.6 per cent. In the field of investment, as of August 2009, Guangdong province had 44 projects operating in Vietnam with a total investment capital of US$560 million. A number of major businesses from the Chinese province, such as Media, TCL, Green, Huawei and ZTE, have built their workshops and sales networks in Vietnam.
Mr Huang affirmed that Guangdong will work with Vietnam to build a comprehensive trade cooperation dialogue mechanism for intensive investment in trade, tourism and agriculture.
“In the coming time, Guangdong province will set up a dialogue mechanism with the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Industry and Trade and promote relations with Ho Chi Minh City. The two sides have been carrying out a project on the Shenzhen-Hai Phong economic and trade zone at a cost of some US$4 billion,” he added.
Apart from 24 contracts signed at the forum, 10 other agreements worth US$427 million have been inked at the opening ceremony of a trade fair showcasing products and promoting trade cooperation of Zhongshan City, China’s Guangzhou Province in Hanoi City on October 19, 2009. The largest project is a steel joint venture an investment capital amounting to US$230 million.
Quynh Chi
Vietnamese
