Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade is cooperating with Chinese retailer Alibaba to facilitate exports via the online platform Alibaba.com.

Overview of the launch. Photo: VNA

The move was announced during an event held today [March 18] to launch the Vietnam Pavillion online booth on Alibaba.com.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said since 2021, Vietrade and Alibaba.com signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support the digitalization of Vietnamese companies, which would help them find new business opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Based on this cooperation, trade promotion activities have been enhanced and revised to better adapt to the new situation and assist companies to engage in trading activities,“ Hai said.

Hai highlighted the role of Alibaba in providing local firms with knowledge on e-commerce and online trade for sustainable development.

“The setup of Vietnam Pavillion on Alibaba is a significant step to support Vietnamese companies in branding and image building, business matching, and gaining further understanding about international customers,” he continued.

Vietrade Director Vu Ba Phu added the Vietnam Pavillion is set to last for one year since March 2022, which is dedicated to Vietnamese products and goods on Alibaba.com, including top quality brands that have been successful in the international market.

“Through this online booth, Viettrade and Alibaba would continue to build brands for Vietnamese goods and support local firms to find customers,” Phu said.

This is particularly important as the Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted global supply chains for the past two years, for which trade promotion in digital platforms has emerged as an effective solution for businesses to expand their reach to 190 countries and territories.

Andrew Zheng, vice general director of Alibaba, forecast global trade to continue its upward trend and surpassed a record-high revenue of US$28 trillion last year, 11% higher than the pre-Covid-19 period.

In this context, Vietnam has a huge advantage with many products preferred by international consumers, from food, beverage, cosmetics, to farm produce and home appliances, he added.

Zheng said given the large number of free trade agreements that Vietnam is a part of, Vietnamese companies would be in a favorable position to turn to sustainable business models with the application of digital instruments for recovery and eventually thrive in the coming time.

Echoing Zheng’s view, Country Director of Alibaba in Vietnam Roger Lou said amid trade disruption on Covid-19, Vietnam had achieved strong results in farm produce exports.

Lou said with the participation in e-commerce platforms, Vietnamese companies have opportunities to upscale operations and further penetrate the international market.