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Vietnam's key export products to China include agricultural produce (rice, coffee, cashews, fruits), seafood, electronic components, textiles, rubber, and crude oil.

Vietnam is finalizing its domestic procedures to proceed with signing the Protocol to upgrade the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA 3.0) as planned. This significant commitment marks a new step forward in bilateral economic relations, which have been elevated to a strategic level with the establishment of the "Vietnam-China Community with a Shared Future."

On the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien held a bilateral meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao on October 27.

During the meeting, the two ministers agreed that amidst complex developments in the regional and global economy, both sides need to strengthen and promote cooperation to create practical value for their citizens and businesses. The upgrade of ACFTA to version 3.0 will not only expand the scope of tariff preferences but also create a more favorable legal framework for trade in services, investment, and cooperation in new areas such as the digital economy and green transformation.

In recent years, China has affirmed its position as Vietnam's most important trading partner. In 2024, bilateral trade turnover reached $205.2 billion, setting a new record for bilateral commerce. This figure not only reflects the immense scale of trade but also highlights the high complementarity in the commodity structure between the two economies.

Data from the Vietnam Trade Office in China shows that strong growth momentum has been maintained in 2025. Export turnover to the Chinese market for the first 8 months recorded a 9.2% increase, 2.1 percentage points higher than the 7-month figure.

Vietnam's key export products to China include agricultural produce (rice, coffee, cashews, fruits), seafood, electronic components, textiles, rubber, and crude oil. Particularly, products such as durian, dragon fruit, mango, and passion fruit not only have a firm foothold but also recorded strong growth in the final months of 2025.

Conversely, Vietnam imports machinery, industrial equipment, raw materials for production, consumer goods, and electronic components from China.

Vietnam is targeting double-digit growth in the 2026–2030 period, with high-tech FDI expected to be one of the main drivers.

From an agricultural economy, Vietnam has undergone a powerful transformation to become a competitive industrial manufacturing hub in the region.

During this process, hi-tech FDI has played a pivotal role, with the presence of "eagles" like Samsung, LG, Intel, and Honda, among others.

These corporations have not only brought in capital and advanced technology but also contributed to reshaping industrial capabilities, training high-quality human resources, and paving the way for Vietnam to integrate more deeply into global value chains.

After 17 years of its operations in Vietnam, from an initial investment of $670 million in 2008, Samsung has now invested over $23.2 billion, running 6 factories and 1 research and development (R&D) center, making Vietnam the largest mobile phone production base outside of South Korea.

Other major names like LG, Intel, and Honda have also chosen Vietnam as a strategic production hub, maintaining their commitment for several decades.

According to data from 2015–2024, the processing and manufacturing industry has consistently led in FDI attraction, accounting for 50–80% of total registered capital. Many multi-billion dollar projects in electronics, semiconductors, renewable energy, and high technology have been flowing into Vietnam, contributing to elevating the nation's position on the global technology map.

According to Professor Nguyen Mai, a leading expert on foreign investment, "The presence of 'big eagles' like Samsung has created a strong spillover effect, attracting more high-tech investors and forming increasingly tight linked value chains in Vietnam."

However, experts also warn that to attract more strategic FDI projects, Vietnam needs to continue to significantly improve its investment environment.

This includes three key issues: first, upgrading technical and logistics infrastructure; second, developing high-quality human resources; and third, reforming investment incentive policies, especially for new sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and clean energy.

Vietnam is targeting double-digit growth in the 2026–2030 period, with high-tech FDI expected to be one of the main drivers.

According to experts, high technology, especially in strategic sectors, has a strong ripple effect. Attracting it first to learn, cooperate, and develop internal capabilities is a long-term approach that will help Vietnam not just be a manufacturing location but also a regional innovation hub.

Việt Nam exported about 188,000 tonnes of pepper worth US$1.27 billion in the first nine months of 2025, down 6.3 per cent in volume but up 28.7 per cent in value year-on-year.

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s pepper sector has maintained its leading global position despite sharp price swings over the past year, driven by supply shortages and higher logistics costs.

Việt Nam exported about 188,000 tonnes of pepper worth US$1.27 billion in the first nine months of 2025, down 6.3 per cent in volume but up 28.7 per cent in value year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The average export price reached $6,774 per tonne, up 37 per cent from 2024.

The strong export performance came despite a volatile year for global pepper markets.

According to the Vietnam Commodity Exchange (MXV), domestic prices doubled or even tripled in 2024, peaking at VNĐ180,000 per kilo ($6.92) - the highest level in a decade.

The Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) said average prices rose 70 per cent in the first half of 2024, driven by global supply shortages as major producers like Việt Nam, Brazil, India and Indonesia all suffered 10-20 per cent output declines due to extreme weather.

Disruptions in the Red Sea and Suez Canal further raised logistics costs, while global consumption continued to grow 3-4 per cent annually, especially in India, the Middle East and Europe.

Việt Nam remains the world’s top supplier, accounting for 35-40 per cent of output and over half of export value. Despite a smaller cultivation area of about 110,500 hectares, productivity has nearly doubled the global average, sustaining output at around 200,000 tonnes in 2024.

In 2025, total production is projected to drop to 180,000 tonnes under the impact of El Nino.

Another factor keeping prices high is a US trade policy that imposes a 40 per cent tariff on goods shipped through third countries, prompting Vietnamese exporters to reduce imports of raw pepper from Brazil and buy more from local farmers instead.

Nguyễn Đức Dũng, deputy general director of the Vietnam Commodity Exchange, said pepper prices were likely to stay around VNĐ150,000–151,000 per kilo until year-end and could approach VNĐ155,000 if supply tightens further.

However, a sharp rally like mid-2024 was unlikely to return as speculative funds had shifted to other commodities such as coffee.

Although pepper prices remained high, the industry still faced challenges from a strong US dollar, tight monetary policies and stricter quality standards from the EU and US, which would raise costs and narrow profit margins.

Analysts say the current high-price period offers a chance for Việt Nam’s pepper sector to upgrade processing, diversify export markets and build a stronger national brand for long-term growth.