China moves to strengthen ties with Vietnam and Thailand
China has conducted fruitful economic and trade cooperation with Vietnam and Thailand, Vice Minister of Commerce Chen Jian said on Monday, a day before Vice President Xi Jinping starts his visit to the two neighboring countries.
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (L Front) receives a bunch of flowers during a welcome ceremony held in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, Dec. 21, 2011.
China, Vietnam and Thailand have achieved satisfying results in trade, investment and economic cooperation, Chen said, adding that the vice president’s visit will further strengthen ties between China and the two countries and facilitate the achievements from their economic cooperation.
China has been Vietnam’s largest trading partner for the last seven years and is also the largest export market and second-largest source of imports for Thailand at present.
The establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) in 2010 has promoted the development of bilateral trade between China and the two countries, Chen said.
“I believe that businessmen in all three countries will make full use of this platform to further expand bilateral trade,” he added.
Chen said mutual investment between China and the two countries is also growing.
Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed that actual investment from Thailand to China totaled 3.39 billion U.S. dollars by the end of October 2011, while newly-added actual investment from Thailand during the first ten months of this year amounted to 98.54 million U.S. dollars.
Non-financial FDI stock from China to Vietnam and Thailand amounted to 1.02 billion and 760 million U.S. dollars, respectively, by the end of October 2011, and China’s investment flow to Vietnam and Thailand during the first 10 months of this year came out to 120 million and 150 million U.S. dollars, respectively.
Chen also said that economic and trade cooperation between China, Vietnam and Thailand is being deepened. Several large-scale cooperative projects in the areas of infrastructure construction, agriculture and manufacturing are currently under negotiation or construction, Chen said.
China has signed agreements to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Vietnam and Thailand. Under the agreements, a five-year development plan for economic cooperation between China and Vietnam has been made, and China is now working with Thailand on a five-year development plan, according to Chen.
The development plans will bring economic cooperation between China and the two countries to a higher level and more achievements will be made in the area, Chen added.
Source: Xinhua
