VIETNAM, July 11 - HÀ NỘI — The trade value between Việt Nam and China is expected to reach US$200 billion this year, driven by strong trade improvement in the first half of the year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) reported that bilateral trade witnessed strong recovery in the first two quarters, hitting nearly $95 billion.

The orders from big markets has increased sharply during the period, leading to higher demand for machinery and material imports to serve production for export. As a result, Vietnamese businesses spent $67 billion on imports from China and raked in $27.8 billion from exports to this market, respectively rising nearly 35 per cent and 5.3 per cent year-on-year.

China remains the biggest supplier of materials for Việt Nam, accounting for nearly 37.6 per cent of the country's total import value in the last six months, according to the MoIT.

Thanks to such strong improvement during the first half, bilateral trade is forecast to approximate $200 billion this year. The figure can reach $190 billion if the growth as in the first half of this year is sustained during the remaining months, and even top $200 billion if better recovery is recorded.

Last year, the Việt Nam-China trade value reached $171.9 billion. Of the figure, Việt Nam’s exports stood at $61.2 billion (up 5.6 per cent), and imports $110.6 billion (down 6.6 per cent), respectively making up 17.3 per cent and 33.9 per cent of the country’s total exports and imports.

Businesses have quickly capitalised on advantages generated by the free trade agreements (FTA) with China such as the ASEAN - China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to benefit from preferential tariffs.

Insiders said they believes that room remains ample for Việt Nam and China to expand trade ties in the time to come.

As scheduled, the 2024 China International Fair for Trade In Services (CIFTIS) will take place in Beijing this September, focusing on such service sectors as energy, posts and telecommunications, finance, education, culture and tourism, and supply chain. It is hoped to further strengthen partnerships between Vietnamese and Chinese businesses. — VNS