Vietnam-China trade accelerates to a record pace

Vietnam and China are moving their economic relationship into a new development phase, with record trade volumes, rising investment inflows, and tighter integration of supply chains.

Trade volumes hit new highs

According to data from the General Department of Customs, bilateral trade has grown strongly in recent years. Two-way trade reached about 171.9 billion USD in 2023. In 2024, the trade volume first crossed 200 billion USD, reaching about 205 billion USD. By 2025, it jumped to about 256.4 billion USD, up nearly 25%, keeping China as Vietnam’s largest trading partner. Vietnam also became China’s largest trading partner in ASEAN.

In the trade structure, Vietnam exported about 70 billion USD to China last year, while imports approached 186 billion USD. The goods structure is shifting in a more positive direction: Vietnam remains strong in agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products such as durian, dragon fruit, bananas, rubber, cassava, and cassava products, while also expanding deeper into China’s retail and supermarket networks with higher standards.

At the same time, the share of processed industrial goods—such as electronics, machinery, and components—in Vietnam’s exports is rising, indicating an upgrade in Vietnam’s value chain as it sells into China’s 1.4 billion-person market.

On the import side, goods from China mainly include machinery, equipment, components, and other inputs for industrial production. This supports the competitiveness of Vietnam’s key export sectors, including electronics, textiles and garment, and mechanical engineering.

Investment expands into higher-tech areas

In the first three months of this year, investment reached about 828 million USD, and there are signs of a slowdown. Even so, the cooperation outlook remains positive, with new potential pillars emerging in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and green energy.

Chinese firms are expanding and investing in Vietnam. Companies including Foxconn, Luxshare-ICT, Pegatron, Goertek, and Compal have invested billions in electronics. Luxshare-ICT has invested over 1.8 billion USD and views Vietnam as a key production base in its global network. BYD has also launched a battery manufacturing project of about 130 million USD in Hue, supporting cooperation in electric vehicles and clean energy.

Projects producing components, materials, fibers, tires, and other inputs—ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of USD—are also expanding. This signals that Vietnam is becoming an important destination in China’s supply-chain restructuring strategy amid global production shifts.

Logistics and border procedures improve connectivity

Both sides are promoting cross-border rail connectivity projects, particularly the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Haiphong and Dong Dang – Hanoi – Haiphong corridors, to connect more deeply with China’s rail network.

Development of smart border gates, digitization of customs procedures, and the creation of cross-border economic corridors are helping shorten clearance times, reduce logistics costs, and improve supply-chain efficiency.

Policy focus: meeting higher standards and shifting investment

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said Vietnam–China economic and trade cooperation continues to grow strongly, with expanding scale and a highly complementary goods structure supporting production and export growth.

According to leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s approach to the Chinese market needs to be adjusted significantly. The market is no longer “easy,” with tightening standards on quality, origin tracing, and food safety. Vietnamese enterprises are expected to update consumer trends, restructure production to raise quality and add value, and meet higher standards.

In attracting capital from China, Vietnam encourages Chinese firms to shift investment away from traditional sectors such as textiles, footwear, and assembly toward high-tech and innovative industries, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, renewable energy, green economy, and the digital economy.