Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on October 16 attended the 10th Western China International Trade Fair and the 2nd Western China International Cooperation Forum in Sichuan province.

The trade fair focused on six main fields: investment cooperation, regional cooperation, the automobile industry, machinery, construction materials and specialties of western China.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the trade fair, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged the Chinese Government’s efforts in developing 12 provinces in western China, which have a large land area and great natural resources and share borders with neighbouring countries in the region.

During the past 35 years, China has invested strongly in infrastructure development and energy projects in the western region, which has recorded an average GDP growth rate of more than 11 percent per annum. To boost the development of this region, Premier Wen Jiabao said that it is essential to strengthen trade and investment cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and pay due attention to energy saving and environmental protection.

In his speech delivered at the event, PM Nguyen Tan Dung noted that countries around the world have experienced their hardest time in many decades due to the global financial crisis. However, at the trade fair, delegates were impressed by China’s significant achievements, particularly in the western region, he said.

The Vietnamese leader also highlighted the growing ties of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and China under the mottos “friendly neighbours, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability and looking towards the future” and “good neighbour, good comrade, good friend and good partner”. Most recently, the two countries’ senior leaders agreed to expand relations into a strategic partnership.

Since 2004, China has been Vietnam’s largest trading partner and Vietnam has become a more and more important trading partner of China. Despite the global financial crisis, Vietnam-China trade turnover reached US$12.5 billion in the first eight months of this year, and is expected to increase to US$19-20 billion by the end of the year. China currently has more than 60 on-going projects in Vietnam with total registered capital investment of over US$2.6 billion. Most Chinese-invested projects are proceeding well.

PM Dung insisted that Vietnam’s economy is recovering rapidly from the global economic downturn, achieving an economic growth of 4.6 percent in the first nine months. The figure is predicted to reach an average of 5-5.5 percent for the whole year. The country attracted more than US$12.5 billion in foreign direct investment and kept its inflation rate at a low level. The Vietnamese economy has weathered the storm and gradually resumed its fast economic growth. This will help Vietnam expand economic cooperation with China, which is considered to be its most important economic partner.

Following his speech, Mr Dung visited 90 stands belonging to 40 Vietnamese businesses.

VietNamNet/VOV