(VOVworld) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Tuesday attended the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the 10^th China-ASEAN Business-Investment Summit (CABIS) in Nanning city of China’s Guangxi province. His participation demonstrates Vietnam’s active contribution to boosting ASEAN-China strategic partnership and Vietnam’s support for its businesses to seek cooperation opportunities in China.

As ASEAN and China are celebrating 22 years of their dialogue relationship, these two events are expected to create a new momentum for economic and trade ties. Two-way trade value between ASEAN and China jumped from 54 billion USD in 2002 to 400 billion USD in 2012 with an average increase of 22% a year. This figure is expected to reach 500 billion USD by 2015. Bilateral investment has surpassed 70 billion USD. There are plenty of opportunities for bilateral trade cooperation to flourish as China is implementing its 12^th 5-year development plan, ASEAN member states are building an ASEAN Community, and particularly the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has reduced and abolished import tariffs on a variety of products. However, according to Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Pham Quang Vinh, both sides need to work more closely to take advantage of these opportunities: “It depends on each country’s level of economic growth to take advantage of the opportunities that this FTA brought about. So, there should be programs to support less developed countries economically. Integration will help to raise our development and production level and learn new technologies.”

As an active member of ASEAN, Vietnam always tries its best to contribute to ASEAN-China cooperation as demonstrated by its successful role as a dialogue country between the two sides in 2011. Vietnam is joining hands with ASEAN members and China to boost the strategic partnership in all areas, particularly trade and investment. Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh says: “With its renewal achievements, Vietnam has come a long way in its regional and global economic integration process. Vietnam is considered one of the countries that best fulfill the targets set for ASEAN member states in terms of economic integration. This is a firm basis for Vietnam to further integrate into free trade areas with ASEAN’s partners including China.”

More than 100 Vietnamese businesses are displaying their products on 200 stands at the expo. Vietnam’s participation in the expo is essential as 4 of its northern provinces border China’s Guangxi province, which have seen an export growth rate of more than 20% in recent years.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s attendance at the expo and summit is also aimed at strengthening political trust and reiterating Vietnam’s consistent policy of developing comprehensive cooperation with China and its border provinces in economics, investment and trade.