Vietnam bridges China and Southeast Asia: minister

By Dat Nguyen September 14, 2023 | 02:31 am PT

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung speaks at the Belt and Road Initiative Summit in Hong Kong on Sep. 14, 2023. Photo courtesy of the ministry

The trade partnership between Vietnam and China help the latter reach Southeast Asia and expand its Belt and Road Initiative, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung has said.

As Vietnam is a bridge between China and Southeast Asian countries, the two countries are finalizing a plan to increase linkages, he said at the eighth Belt and Road Summit, which was held in Hong Kong on Wednesday and Thursday.

The summit was attended by nearly 6,000 officials and business leaders from 70 countries and territories.

As of August, Chinese investors have established nearly 4,000 projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of $26 billion.

In the last eight months alone China pledged to invest $2.7 billion, making it the second biggest foreign direct investor in Vietnam.

China is also Vietnam’s largest import market and its second-largest export market.

The Belt and Road Initiative is being implemented in a new context with the development of Industry 4.0, digital transformation, green transformation, and a restructuring of global supply chains.

These factors allow more opportunities to increase partnerships between China, Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries.

Members of the initiative need to increase policy dialogue and share experience in digital economy development and green transformation.

Countries should speed up the development of infrastructure to increase transport of goods, especially railways.

Dung also said that Vietnam had many factors that were attractive to foreign investors, including political stability, a large market and large labor resources.

At the summit, Dung also had meetings with Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, and business leaders of several companies including Sunwah, Swire Pacific, and Jardine Matheson.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative was launched in 2013 with the goal of promoting regional cooperation and connectivity in five areas including policy, transportation, finance, trade and human connection.

Over 10 years, the initiative has attracted the participation and cooperation of more than 100 economies and international organizations, with more than 3,000 projects implemented globally, with a total capital of nearly $1 trillion.