Vietnam, Guangxi sign 54 cooperation projects

54 trade, investment and credit cooperation projects worth US$1.9 billion were signed during an economic-trade forum between Vietnam and China’s Guangxi province in Hanoi on September 11.

The projects mainly involve mechanical engineering, machinery, cement, urban infrastructure, wind power, irrigation and hydropower.

Speaking at the forum, President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc affirmed that the Vietnamese Government attaches great importance to developing its friendship with China and will do its utmost to foster bilateral ties, particularly in the economic, trade and investment relations with Guangxi province.

Loc said he hoped that the forum will encourage Guangxi businesses to strengthen trade and investment cooperation with their Vietnamese counterparts to improve the trade balance between the two nations.

According to Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Sun Guoxiang, Vietnam has become Guangxi’s largest trade partner with two-way trade reaching over US$4 billion in 2009. The figure exceeded US$2 billion in the first half of this year, accounting for nearly 16 percent of the two countries’ trade turnover.

The ambassador affirmed that the Chinese government supports Guangxi businesses’ in economic-trade cooperation with Vietnam and will continue facilitate businesses on both sides in implementatng cooperation projects in the future.

Governor of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Ma Biao, stressed that Guangxi attaches importance to developing its economic trade ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Vietnam.

He suggested both sides accelerate the construction of the Nanning-Hanoi expressway, develop infrastructure, strengthen coordination in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) cooperation framework, and facilitate exchanges and cooperation between Guangxi and Vietnam’s border tours.

At the forum, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen The Phuong, also committed to creating more favourable conditions for Guangxi businesses to implement their projects in line with Vietnamese law and called for their continued investment in the country.