Vietnam welcomes quality investment from major Chinese companies, and that will bring benefits for all parties involved, according to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at a meeting with major Chinese companies. Photo: VGP.

As both countries have initially contained Covid-19, Vietnam is considering resuming commercial flights with China, with Guangzhou being one of the first destinations, Phuc said at a meeting on June 12 with Chinese firms operating in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese government would continue to support and create favorable conditions for foreign experts, businesses and investors, including those from China, to return to Vietnam, Phuc stressed.

As the existing global supply chains have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Phuc hoped more Chinese investors would come to Vietnam and address this issue.

Vietnam considers the success of foreign investors its own success, Phuc stated, adding the local authorities would continue to ensure stable macro-economic conditions for foreign enterprises committed to long-term business in the country.

More Chinese investors to Vietnam would help address the current disruption of global value chains. Photo: VGP.

At the meeting, a representative of over 3,000 Chinese businesses in Vietnam thanked the government’s efforts in containing the pandemic, so that all economic activities could return to normal.

Chinese firms expressed confidence in Vietnam’s success in pursuing the dual target of containing the pandemic and boosting economic recovery, as well as new opportunities from the upcoming EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), EU – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans – Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Tao Hui, CEO of textile firm Texhong Vietnam, said his company and other Chinese firms are committed to supporting the country’s efforts in speeding up the economic recovery.

So far, Texhong has resumed all 14 projects and brought its production capacity back to 97% of the pre-Covid-19 performance. In the first three months of 2020, Texhong exports goods worth US$460 million and paid nearly VND95 billion (US$4.1 million) in taxes.

Tao Hui said the company is planning to expand investments in Vietnam.

For his part, CEO of Brotex Vietnam Zhang Kui said the company has invested US$1 billion in Vietnam since 2012, and created 8,000 jobs.

Zhang Kui said despite the fact that the company is severely impacted by the pandemic, Brotex strives to ensure job security for its employees.

Tu Peng Yuan, CEO of Wolong, a company investing in liquified natural gas projects in Hai Phong, said the company was not affected by the pandemic and even did better compared to the same period last year.

China is currently Vietnam’s largest import market and second largest export market. Meanwhile, Vietnam is China’s largest trading partner in the Southeast Asian region, posting bilateral trade of US$120 billion in 2019.

To date, China has had a total of 3,000 projects in Vietnam with registered capital of a combined nearly US$21 billion, or 5.5% of total FDI to Vietnam. As a result, China ranked 7^th out of 136 countries and territories having investments in the country.