According to a respected expert in Hanoi, China's investment in Vietnam has shown a sharp increase in both capital value and project number in 2013 due to the stable bilateral relations that exist between the two nations.
Do Tien Sam, editor-in-chief of the China Research Journal published by the Institute of Chinese Studies in Vietnam Academy of Social Science, said that the confidence of the Chinese private investors to increase their investments in 2013 has been encouraged by the political determination of the leaders of the two countries to maintain strong and healthy bilateral relations.
Based on statistics from Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment, Sam said that China's total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam dramatically increased from $371 million in 2012 to over $2.3 billion in 2013.
Sam added that in 1991, China invested in just a single project in Vietnam. At the end of 2013, China already has 977 viable projects in Vietnam which account for approximately 7 percent of foreign investment in the country. Sam said he is positive that Chinese investment will still continue to pour into Vietnam despite the financial crisis experienced worldwide and the slow economic recovery in the EU, U.S., and Japan.
Sam further said that better opportunities lie ahead for both countries particularly now that Vietnam is in the process of concluding negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Sam added that Vietnam would like to take advantage of the advanced technologies and management expertise from Chinese companies and to expect more investments from China to build support industries so that they can maximize benefits from their participation in the TPP.
Vietnamese economic and financial expert Bui Kien Thanh also said last year that Vietnam still has a lot to learn from China's newest technologies and highly-qualified human resources, which Vietnam needs in its economic development.