Workshop seeks to boost Việt Nam-China trade    Chinese customers visit a Vietnamese stall in the ongoing 2016 ASEAN-Hunan Famous Brand High-Quality Products Trade Fair. - VNA/VNS Photo Tường Thu BEIJING - A workshop was held in the Chinese central province of Hunan on October 19 to promote co-operation between Việt Nam and China in economics, trade, investment and tourism. The event was organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in China and the Hunan provincial Department of Commerce as part of the ongoing 2016 ASEAN-Hunan Famous Brand High-Quality Products Trade Fair. Minister-Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in China Nguyễn Đắc Thành said the workshop will enable businesses to study co-operation opportunities and potential in the context of the recent establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community and the growing friendship and co-operative ties between the two countries. He noted that with the goal to raise bilateral trade to US$100 billion in 2017, the two sides have continuously undertaken measures to expand partnership in economics, trade and investment in a healthy, stable and balanced manner, while encouraging businesses to expand partnership. According to the diplomat, the Vietnamese Government is committed to creating the best possible conditions for foreign enterprises, including those from China, to do business in Việt Nam. Việt Nam has also welcomed Hunan businesses to invest in projects suitable with the country’s sustainable development strategy, especially in construction materials, supporting industry, equipment and machinery, as well as electricity, renewable energy and green growth. Việt Nam-China trade surpassed $66 billion in 2015 (China’s statistics $95.8 billion). China has been the largest trade partner of Việt Nam for the past 12 consecutive years, while Việt Nam became the largest trade partner of China in ASEAN in 2015 for the first time. As of July 2016, Chinese firms poured in nearly $11 billion into 1,500 investment projects in Việt Nam, ranking ninth out of the 110 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation. China is the leading country in terms of the number of tourists to Việt Nam and it is also one of the most popular destinations for Vietnamese travellers. Close to two million Chinese vacationers arrived in Việt Nam in the first nine months of 2016, a year-on-year increase of over 55 per cent and equal to the total figure of 2015. - VNS