According to experts, the sharp increase in imports from China shows that the demand for raw materials to serve Vietnam's export orders is on the rise. However, the record trade deficit shows that cheap Chinese goods are flooding into our country. Vietnam needs to be careful to avoid becoming a "source laundering" place for some goods.
Highest imports ever
According to preliminary statistics General Department of Customs As of the end of November, Vietnam spent more than 130.5 billion USD to import goods from China, an increase of more than 30.1% over the same period last year. This figure is also the highest import level ever for Vietnam from the billion-people market.
With this import turnover, currently Chinese goods accounting for 38% of the country's total import value. Meanwhile, last year, import turnover from this market only reached nearly 111 billion USD and in 2022 only nearly 118 billion USD. As of the end of November this year, Vietnam trade deficit from China more than 75 billion USD.
The items that Vietnam imports the most from China include computers, electronic products and components, reaching 31 billion USD (accounting for 23.8% of import turnover from this country); machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts reaching 26 billion USD (accounting for 20%); fabrics reaching more than 9 billion USD, phones of all kinds reaching 8 billion USD, iron and steel reaching nearly 7 billion USD...
Talk to PV Tien Phong , economic expert Le Dang Doanh - former Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management - said that imports from the Chinese market increased sharply to serve export orders that are still recovering. Goods imported from the Chinese market are mainly products and raw materials for production for domestic enterprises. For example, Samsung factories in Vietnam always have to import many accessories from China for assembly.
However, Mr. Doanh noted, the trade deficit with China The surge may be a result of the trend of shifting investment capital and production facilities from China in recent years, after the US imposed high tariffs on Chinese goods. This has led many Chinese businesses to take advantage of Vietnam as a transit country to export goods to the US, in order to avoid the trade tariff barriers that the country has erected on goods from China.
Avoid becoming a place to "launder" Chinese goods
According to experts, the world's second largest economy is currently experiencing excess capacity and must find ways to export to other countries. In particular, with the increasingly popular trend of e-commerce, cheap goods from China have more opportunities to reach Vietnamese consumers, causing fierce competition for domestic goods.
Typically, in the automobile sector, there are now more than 10 Chinese brands directly importing or assembling in Vietnam. The number of imported cars in 11 months from China this year has skyrocketed 2.9 times compared to last year, demonstrating this. Even the Chinese electric car company BYD, which is leading the world in terms of scale and output, is continuously promoting build distribution system in Vietnam.
In particular, the solar battery market has been almost in the hands of Chinese enterprises for the past 3-4 years and Vietnam is in need of this product.
In addition, the status cheap steel and surplus in China also flooded into Vietnam to alarming levels. Recently, the General Department of Customs continuously warned about steel Imported from China Falsely declaring product names, types, and codes to fraudulently evade import taxes, self-defense taxes, and anti-dumping taxes.
Economist Nguyen Tri Hieu said that there is a reality that Vietnamese businesses need to face: cheap Chinese goods with increasingly high quality are flooding all markets. For Vietnam, the market is right next door with great demand, so the level of competition is even fiercer.
According to Mr. Hieu, with the influx of Chinese goods into Vietnam, Vietnamese enterprises need to have a plan and make great efforts to improve their competitiveness. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many Vietnamese enterprises have weakened, making the race even more difficult. Therefore, the Government needs to have support measures, including considering the establishment of a national credit guarantee fund to support enterprises in terms of capital...
Dr. Le Dang Doanh said that Vietnam's large trade deficit with China but its trade surplus with the US is something to be aware of. Therefore, Vietnam needs to quickly increase the production rate and increase the value of domestic goods, avoiding becoming a "source laundering" place for Chinese goods. If not, it is very likely that some goods will fall into the situation of being considered for high taxes under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
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