Market watchers and exporters anticipate that the Vietnam-China economic and trade ties will rise to a new level, driven by the two economies’ highly complementary trade structures, Vietnam's modernisation drive, and the growing influence of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
As reported by an article posted on the China Daily website, these insiders said that amid rising protectionism and unilateral challenges, the two countries are pressing ahead with industrial upgrading and digital transformation, positioning themselves to tap into new growth opportunities across key sectors such as advanced manufacturing, green energy, smart logistics, e-commerce and regional supply chain integration.
Wan Zhe, a professor specialising in regional economic development at Beijing Normal University, noted that united by common aspirations for sustainable growth and economic resilience, the two countries are on track to forge even deeper and more dynamic economic ties in the years to come.
Bilateral business relations have witnessed remarkable progress, especially in recent years, with Vietnam introducing key national strategies such as the National Green Growth Strategy for 2021-2030, vision towards 2050; the National Strategy on R&D and Application of Artificial Intelligence; and the National Strategy for 4th Industrial Revolution.
Wan said that these forward-looking initiatives have significantly enhanced Vietnam's appeal as a destination for investment and innovation, attracting a substantial influx of Chinese and foreign capital and technologies over the past several years.
"This growing synergy has laid a strong foundation for deeper economic and technological collaboration between the two countries," she added as quoted by the article.
Vietnam has become a key overseas investment destination for China. In 2024, from January to August, Chinese companies invested 1.97 billion USD in the Southeast Asian country, maintaining a rapid rate of growth, according to the latest data released by China's Ministry of Commerce. Benefiting from a booming intermediate goods trade, the rising freight volume on the China-Vietnam Railway and substantial gains resulting from the RCEP and the Belt and Road Initiative, bilateral trade surged 14.6 percent year-on-year to 1.85 trillion CNY (254.05 billion USD) last year, statistics from China's General Administration of Customs showed.
In the medium to long term, the countries are more likely to deepen industrial complementarity and division of labour rather than engage in direct competition, said Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, which is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.
