Expanding the Viet Nam - China trade cooperation space

On the afternoon of November 12, the Trade Promotion Centre for Agriculture (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), in collaboration with the National Authority for Agro-Forestry-Fishery Quality Processing and Market (NAFIQPM) and Hong Kong’s Sunwah Group, hosted the “Viet Nam - China Business Promotion Forum.” The event brought together nearly 100 enterprises from both countries, including almost 50 companies from China’s Henan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Shandong, Shanxi, and Hebei provinces.

According to Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director General of the NAFIQPM, trade relations between Vietnam and China have continued to grow strongly in recent years. In 2024, bilateral trade reached USD 205.2 billion, an increase of 19.3% compared with the previous year, and by the end of October 2025, the figure had already climbed to USD 208 billion. Viet Nam has become China’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia and its fourth largest worldwide.

In the field of agriculture, the two countries have achieved a number of noteworthy outcomes. Bilateral agricultural trade has maintained a stable growth rate, with many of Vietnam’s flagship agricultural products, such as fruits, seafood, rice, coffee, pepper, and rubber, gaining broader access to the Chinese market. These achievements demonstrate not only the competitiveness of Vietnamese products but also the growing complementarity between the two economies.

“The Chinese government has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding agricultural imports from Vietnam and supporting large-scale, high-quality investment by enterprises of both sides. This presents a great opportunity for Viet Nam’s key export products such as fruits, cashew nuts, coffee, and seafood, especially as demand in the Chinese market continues to grow,” Mr. Hoa noted.

A series of bilateral and multilateral agreements have been signed, creating a favorable legal framework for trade activities. Vietnamese enterprises import a wide range of machinery, equipment, technologies, materials, fertilizers, and chemicals from China to serve agricultural production. Meanwhile, Chinese businesses have shown growing interest in investing, transferring processing and preservation technologies, and developing high-tech agriculture projects in Viet Nam.

“The forum today provides an important opportunity for industry associations and enterprises from both countries to exchange information, connect supply and demand, and explore cooperation opportunities in investment, technology transfer, and market development,” Deputy Director General Le Thanh Hoa emphasized. “It is also an occasion for us to discuss solutions to improve the quality, safety, and added value of agricultural products, aiming toward green, clean, and sustainable agriculture in line with global trends.”

Mr. Hoang Lien Son, Head of the Startup Consulting and Market Development Division under NAFIQPM, highlighted that cooperation between ASEAN and China remains a major strategic focus. The aim is to strengthen market connectivity, facilitate technology sharing, and develop sustainable agricultural value chains that benefit enterprises and consumers on both sides.

Building on this vision, the Authority has proposed coordinating a wide range of activities, including trade promotion, business matchmaking, and more extensive dissemination of market information. These efforts are designed to help enterprises better understand business cultures, regulatory requirements, and evolving consumer trends.

He further stressed, “Both countries need to enhance information exchange and technical collaboration in areas such as policy, technical standards, quarantine, and biosafety, while coordinating the cross-border circulation of goods in line with international norms. At the same time, we should actively promote investment linkages along the agricultural value chain, with a focus on advanced processing, cold-chain logistics, e-commerce, raw material standardization, and the establishment of distribution centers and joint processing zones at border areas.”

Within the framework of the forum, industry associations and enterprises from both Viet Nam and China engaged in active information exchange, strengthened connections between supply and demand, and explored a wide range of opportunities for investment cooperation, technology transfer, and the expansion of agricultural markets.

In addition, participants held in-depth discussions on strategies to improve the quality, ensure the safety, and increase the added value of agricultural products. The goal is to promote the development of green, clean, and sustainable agriculture that not only meets domestic needs but also aligns with evolving global consumer trends and international standards.