China and Vietnam are expected to enhance their economic and cultural exchanges after demonstrating resilience and cooperation against the pandemic, experts say.

“Since both China and Vietnam have effectively put the COVID-19 pandemic under control, the bilateral trade volume saw a continuous growth since the beginning of this year,” said Gu Chaoqing, chairman of the Business Association of China in Vietnam (BACV).

In the first ten months of 2020, Vietnam remained as China’s biggest trading partner in ASEAN

In the first ten months of 2020, bilateral trade between China and Vietnam reached nearly US$150 billion, up 16.2 percent year-on-year, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs.

During the same period, it accounted for over 27 percent of China’s trade with the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations, and Vietnam – its chair this year – remained as China’s biggest trading partner in the 10-member bloc who has scheduled the ASEAN summit for Nov 12-15 via video link.

Gu from BACV said the Chinese and Vietnamese economies complement each other and that he expects cooperation between the two countries in trade and economics as well as in industrial capacity will continue to grow steadily.

“The China-Vietnam trade cooperation is resilient,” said Gu. Noting their bilateral trade exceeded US$160 billion last year, he said the number is expected to increase in 2020.

As China transforms its growth model with more focus on imports to stimulate domestic demand, this can help improve bilateral relations while promoting Vietnam’s exports of strategic products to China, said Do Thang Hai, Vietnam’s deputy minister of industry and trade

Do Thang Hai, Vietnam’s deputy minister of industry and trade, said China is transforming its growth model with more focus on imports to stimulate domestic demand. He said this is a new factor that can help improve bilateral relations while promoting Vietnam’s exports of strategic products to China, including agricultural and aquatic products and processed food products such as coffee.

“There is a rising demand from China in Vietnam’s processed agricultural products, milk and dairy products. To local companies that have the production capacity and products that meet the market demand, this will provide opportunities for them,” said Hai during the third China International Import Expo, according to Vietnamese online news portal baodautu.vn.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global supply chains, China-ASEAN trade relations "are being further boosted by great efforts from two sides”, said Vo Tri Thanh, former deputy head of Vietnam's Central Institute for Economic Management, as quoted by Xinhua.

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Thanh said the efforts spanned government determination to find measures to maintain trade flow and eliminate the impacts by COVID-19, and the commitment from the business sector to potential markets.

Do Thanh Van, head of the Confucius Institute at Hanoi University, said Chinese language education also plays an important role in improving bilateral relations.

Increasing interactions and deeper cooperation between the two countries can promote people-to-people exchanges, enhance mutual trust and contribute to the long-term development of bilateral relations, said Do Thanh Van, head of the Confucius Institute at Hanoi University

Noting many people in Vietnam are interested in learning Chinese, Van said that by learning the language, Vietnamese people can understand China in a deeper and more comprehensive way. “This is conducive to supporting the exchanges and cooperation in other sectors such as technology and culture,” she said.

For example, at her institute, the first and so far, only Confucius Institute in Vietnam, hybrid courses that combine Chinese language education and vocational training have been launched to provide Chinese language talent for companies in need.

Van said the increasing interactions and deeper cooperation between the two countries in turn also promote people-to-people exchanges, enhance mutual trust and contribute to the long-term development of bilateral relations.

This year is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam. Xu Ningning, executive president of the China-ASEAN Business Council, said that the two countries should take this opportunity to further promote bilateral relations.

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Bilateral cooperation between China and each ASEAN country will be important to support the development of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership, he added.

ASEAN economies are full of business opportunities that provide Chinese companies a platform to cooperate with local firms and jointly exploit the global market, said Xu.

In 2019, seven out of 10 countries to top the list of China’s non-financial investment among those taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative are from ASEAN. In particular, Vietnam placed second among the recipient countries in ASEAN, after Singapore only.

Noting China and Vietnam are among the first in the world that have controlled the pandemic and realized rapid economic recovery, Gu Chaoqing, chairman of the Business Association of China in Vietnam, said the two countries should deepen their trade and economic cooperation after the pandemic

Noting China and Vietnam are among the first in the world that have controlled the pandemic and realized rapid economic recovery, Gu from BACV said the two countries should deepen their trade and economic cooperation after the pandemic, make full use of their respective strengths, and promote mutual development as well as cooperation in trade, economy and industrial chains.

“This will help provide support from an industrial chain perspective to the recovery and development of the global economy,” he said.

Amid rising protectionism and anti-globalization, Gu said that Chinese companies in Vietnam will firmly uphold globalization, further expand industrial cooperation with Vietnamese companies and bring more direct investment to Vietnam, making contributions to promote bilateral trade, economic cooperation and the economic development of both countries.

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Van from the Confucius Institute at Hanoi University said the institute will further promote the hybrid education model that focuses on both the Chinese language and vocational skills. She believes this is in line with the rapid economic development of Vietnam and can help provide more opportunities for local students to develop their careers.

“We will continue to nurture talent equipped with a global vision and intercultural communication skills, playing our part in meeting the demand for international talent in China, Vietnam and even across the whole ASEAN region,” said Van.

During the upcoming 37th ASEAN Summit, a number of meetings will also be taking place, including the 23rd ASEAN-China Summit, Japan and South Korea leaders' meeting, the 15th East Asia Summit, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) summit and the first ASEAN women leaders' summit, a Vietnamese spokesperson said at a press briefing on Nov 5 in Hanoi.

“The cooperation between China and the 10 ASEAN nations is of great importance,” said Xu of CABC, adding that this cooperation does not only stand to benefit the eleven countries involved, but also promotes the stability and prosperity of the entire region, its role in global economic growth and the building of a new type of international relations.

Noting that 2020 is the last year of the Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity (2016-20), Xu said he expects the fourth action plan for 2021-25 to be devised based on the previous achievements made by the two sides.

Contact the writers at kelly@chinadailyapac.com