China, Vietnam vow to deepen trade cooperation, push digital economy

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Vietnam. The two countries have achieved fruitful results in economic and trade cooperation, driven by the continuous promotion of regional economic integration and cooperation in emerging areas such as the digital economy, green development and cross-border e-commerce.

On Wednesday, the two countries issued a joint statement on further deepening and elevating the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

The two sides have agreed to effectively deploy an economic-trade cooperation zone, focusing on intensifying investment cooperation in fields such as agriculture, infrastructure, energy, the digital economy and green development.

Digital economy a priority

The digital economy is high on the agenda as a slew of memorandums of understanding (MoU) have been signed between China and Vietnam in the field, concerning cooperation in investment, telecommunications, information technology and digital transformation, as well as the digitalization of data.

Vietnam, with its goal to become a prosperous digital country by 2030, is speeding up the development of its digital economy, which it considers a "breakthrough" step in the context of the fourth industrial revolution, reported VietnamPlus.

The country has recorded a brilliant performance in digital economic growth in the past years, being the fastest-growing digital economy in the Southeast Asia region for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, according to the e-Conomy SEA report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, released in early November.

It is expected to hold the position till 2025, growing 20 percent a year during the period and reaching around $45 billion by 2025, according to the report.

The digital economy is also contributing a larger part to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in October.

It contributed 14.26 percent to the national GDP in 2022, and the ratio is expected to reach 20 percent in 2025 and 30 percent in 2030, according to Thuong.

The president also proposed "three pillars" for digital economic cooperation at the forum, namely collaboration in digital institutions, digital infrastructure and digital human resources.

In September, a smart border port project started construction in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 

Based on automation technologies and 5G technology, the Sino-Vietnamese project at the Friendship Pass in Pingxiang will greatly improve the efficiency of customs clearance processes and better serve bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Trade partners yielding high value

China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner for many years, and Vietnam has remained China's largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since 2016.

The bilateral trade exceeded $200 billion for two consecutive years in 2021 and 2022, and in the first 11 months this year, the goods trade reached 1.45 trillion yuan (about $203.73 billion), a 3.6 percent year-on-year increase, according to the latest data from General Administration of Customs.

In November alone, bilateral trade hit a monthly record high of 161.92 billion yuan, up 12.5 percent year on year.

China will continue to take positive measures to promote unimpeded trade with Vietnam, support the two sides in strengthening cooperation in railway, 5G and other infrastructure construction, and accelerate investment cooperation in the digital economy and green development, said Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.