UNEVEN BILATERAL TRADE TRENDS BETWEEN VIETNAM AND CHINA — ARE THEY GOOD TRADE PARTNERS OR NOT?

4 min readMay 15, 2023

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA AND VIETNAM
International relations between China and Vietnam have experienced multiple ups and downs. Although both countries belong to Sino-spheric and socialist backgrounds, the heat and tensions have always been there between China and Vietnam. The major events that created more differences between both countries were the Saigon collapse (1975) and the reunification of the Vietnamese (1976). In the year 1979, China even attacked Vietnam in the year 1979 and this war was named the “Sino-Vietnam War” which lasted till the year 1990. Post-war, both nations started working to improve their economic ties and relations.

As per the current scenario, China is considered Vietnam’s major and topmost trade partner. Out of the total exports made by Vietnam as per Vietnam Export Data reports, roughly 22.65% of exports are made to China, and on the other hand, if we refer to Vietnam Import Data of recent times, then almost 30% of total imports of Vietnam are done from China. After establishing the first-ever diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China, bilateral trade is increasing yearly between both nations. A clear picture of the growing trade between Vietnam and China is shown below in the form of a table.

As per the table above, bilateral trade is also on a continuous rise. Although China exports more to Vietnam, it has a positive trade balance, whereas Vietnam has had a negative trade balance in the past five years.

TOP 10 EXPORTS FROM VIETNAM TO CHINA — 2021
Let’s now focus on the kinds of goods that were exported the most from Vietnam to China in the year 2021 and are estimated to remain at the top positions in coming years too. So, as per Vietnam Export Data for the year 2021, the top 10 items exported from Vietnam to China were:

• Electrical machines and equipment (USD 30.26 billion)
• Cotton (USD 2.77 billion)
• Rubber items (USD 2.39 billion)
• Machines and mechanical tools (USD 2.22 billion)
• Edible fruits and nuts (USD 2.08 billion)
• Iron and steel (USD 1.68 billion)
• Footwear (USD 1.65 billion)
• Wooden items (USD 1.42 billion)
• Ground elements like salt, sulfur, and stones (USD 986.43 million)
• Small aquatic invertebrates (USD 964.33 million)

Other items in the rundown were optical and precision tools, cereals, plastic products, and clothing items.

TOP 10 IMPORTS TO VIETNAM FROM CHINA — 2021
Similar to the exports, Vietnam also imports various items from China. As per Vietnam Import Data for the year 2021 also, a top 10 product list has been formed which is mentioned as under:

• Electrical machines and equipment (USD 45.33 billion)
• Machines and mechanical tools (USD 12.17 billion)
• Plastic products (USD 6.58 billion)
• Iron and steel (USD 4.51 billion)
• Knitted fabrics (USD 4.25 billion)
• Optical and precision tools (USD 1.99 billion)
• Manmade filaments (USD 1.98 billion)
• Aluminum products (USD 1.84 billion)
• Organic chemicals (USD 1.83 billion)
• Light automobiles (USD 1.81 billion)

Other items in the rundown were chemical products, cotton, paper items, and glassware.

LAST VERDICT
What happened at the end of the year 1991 that led to a sudden transformation in the relations between China and Vietnam? The simple answer to this question is that in 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved. Due to this dissolution, all the mischiefs of China also came to an end and Vietnam got ready to improve its ties with China. Official visits to and fro both countries started to happen, and new trade bonds started getting established between them.
As per our estimates, the current trade relations and commercial ties are going to expand in the future as now a sense of understanding and coordination has developed. For more trade-related information, and Import Export Data reports, contact TradeImeX today and get answers to all your queries from our experts.

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UNEVEN BILATERAL TRADE TRENDS BETWEEN VIETNAM AND CHINA — ARE THEY GOOD TRADE PARTNERS OR NOT?

Written by tradeimex