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Trump Touts Benefits of Trade with Vietnam
Last Updated: November 12, 2017 1:37 AM

• Steve Herman

U.S. President Donald Trump and Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang leave a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, Nov. 12, 2017


HANOI, VIETNAM —
U.S. President Donald Trump says he is seeking two-way trade with Vietnam that will benefit both countries.

After meeting in Hanoi Sunday with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, Trump told a joint press conference, “For trade to work, all countries must play by the rules. I am encouraged that Vietnam has recently become the fastest growing export market to the United States. Mr. President, I applaud your efforts to implement economic reforms and increase Vietnam’s trade and investment in all directions. The United States is enthusiastic about reforms that promote economic prosperity for all Vietnamese citizens.”

He added, “We just had a great discussion about American goods and services coming into Vietnam. Two-way street. I am confident that American energy, agriculture, financial services, aviation, digital commerce, and defense products are able to meet all of your many commercial needs. And, in fact, not only meet them but what we do is better than anybody else.”

President Donald Trump and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang pose for photographers at the Presidential Palace, Nov. 12, 2017, in Hanoi, Vietnam. Trump is on a five country trip through Asia traveling to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.


Speaking through a translator, Quang described his meeting with Trump as fruitful, saying, “The president’s state visit to Vietnam marks a milestone in Vietnam-U.S. relations, creating strong momentum for the substantive, effective, and stable development of the bilateral, comprehensive partnership.”

North Korea

The two men also discussed North Korea and the South China Sea.

Trump repeated his warning that North Korea represents a major threat to peace and stability in the region.

“As I said in my speech to the Republic of Korea’s national assembly, all responsible nations must act now to ensure that North Korea’s rogue regime stops threatening the world with unthinkable loss of life. Safety and security are goals that we can progress, not provocation. I mean, we have been provoked, the world has been provoked. We don’t want that. We want stability not chaos and we want peace, not war.”

In a Tweet earlier Sunday, Trump hit back at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who had again called him a dotard, a term that describes an elderly person who is losing his mental abilities.

On Twitter, Trump, who has frequently called Kim “Little Rocket Man,” said:


When asked if it was possible for the two of them to ever be friends, Trump told the press conference, “I think anything’s a possibility. Strange things happen in life. That might be a strange thing to happen but, it’s certainly a possibility. If that did happen it would be a good thing, I can tell you, for North Korea. But, it would also be a good thing for lots of other places and it would be good for the world. So, uh ... certainly it is something that could happen. I don’t know that it will. But, it would be very very nice if it did.”

During his bilateral meeting with Quang, Trump also offered his services as a mediator for the South China Sea dispute. When asked about the offer at the press conference, Quang would only say Vietnam seeks a peaceful resolution to the issue through negotiations and in line with international law.

Vietnam 's Communist Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a bilateral meeting at Communist Party Headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, Nov. 12, 2017.


President Trump is also holding closed door meetings in Hanoi with Nguyen Phu Trong, secretary general of the Communist Party, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam. He left Sunday for the Philippines to attend ASEAN meetings with other regional leaders.

APEC

Before his arrival in Hanoi, Trump was in the central Vietnamese city of Danang, where he attended the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

En route to Hanoi aboard Air Force One, Trump reiterated to reporters traveling with him that he discussed with APEC leaders agreements that have resulted in trade imbalances he says are disadvantageous to the U.S.

“It’s disgraceful. And I don’t blame any of those countries. I blame the people we had representing us who didn’t know what they were doing because they should have never let that happen.”

At the close of the APEC meeting, the 21 member nations issued a statement expressing support for free trade and closer regional ties, without any mention of Trump’s “America First” doctrine.

WATCH: Leaders of US and China Offer Asia Business Leaders Divergent Paths

Leaders of US and China Offer Asia Business Leaders Divergent Paths
0:02:53


China

On Friday, Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, offered starkly contrasting views of the direction for trade in Asia in separate speeches to regional business leaders.

Trump told the APEC CEO Summit that he is willing to make bilateral trade agreements with any country in the Indo-Pacific region, but he firmly rejected multinational deals such as the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was quickly abandoned in the first days of his administration.

“I will make bilateral trade agreements with any Indo-Pacific nation that wants to be our partner and that will abide by the principles of fair and reciprocal trade,” Trump said. “What we will no longer do is enter into large agreements that tie our hands, surrender our sovereignty, and make meaningful enforcement practically impossible.”

The U.S. president said that in the past when his country “lowered market barriers, other countries didn’t open their markets to us.”

From now on, however, Trump warned the United States will, “expect that our partners will faithfully follow the rules. We expect that markets will be open to an equal degree on both sides and that private investment, not government planners, will direct investment.”

But making that happen is something that is easier said than done.

China has already shown that it has no intention of playing by the rules, said Fraser Howie, co-author of the book Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of China’s Extraordinary Rise.

“China has been in WTO terms simply much sharper and smarter than the Americans,” Howie said. “While the Americans went in with good faith thinking the Chinese would change and whatever, the Chinese never had any intention of changing.”

President Xi, whose country’s rise has been driven by large-scale government-planning, immediately followed Trump on the stage in Danang.

Xi embraced the multilateral concept, in particular calling for support for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), which would harmonize regional and bilateral economic pacts.

China was left out of the TPP, which had been led by the United States and Japan, and was meant in great part as a bulwark against China’s strategic ambitions.

Xi also termed globalization an irreversible trend, but said the world must work to make it more balanced and inclusive.

The speeches came just hours after Trump left China where he and Xi met several times on Wednesday and Thursday.

• 
  
  Steve Herman

 

[TaiShang]

Vietnamese cross-border workers ride China’s economic boom
(Xinhua) 08:25, November 15, 2017

Several Vietnamese vendors from the Vietnamese city of Mong Cai, just across the China-Vietnam border, sell goods in Dongxing, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region during the National Day holiday. Photo: IC

It is the busiest time of the year at Nguyen Thien Kam Wan's goods store in Dongxing, a Chinese border city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Ahead of Singles' Day, China's annual shopping bonanza, the Vietnamese businesswoman had been shipping Vietnamese specialties to Chinese buyers, who placed orders for more than 2,000 bags of dried jackfruit alone.

"It [Singles' Day] is larger than our sales in a normal month," she said.

For many years, Nguyen Thien Kam Wan has crossed the border from the Vietnamese city of Mong Cai to Dongxing every morning, before returning home to Vietnam after the working day is over.

She received less than $100 a day when running the business in 2003, but now, her daily revenue surpasses $500, partly thanks to the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao, which she and her Chinese friend have used since 2014.

"Back in 2003, I didn't see many Vietnamese businesspeople like me, and I always finished work early. But now, customs has extended the closure time to 7 pm," she said.

Growing capital

In the 1990s, China began allowing border residents to conduct small-scale cross-border businesses, attracting Vietnamese residents to Dongxing, which is just across the border from Mong Cai.

In 2012, the Dongxing government allowed Vietnamese residents to open stores in the city, fueling another surge in the number of workers crossing the border.

According to government data, there are now 1,886 Vietnamese stores operating in China, with registered capital of more than 28 million yuan ($4.3 million).

Furthermore, as of March 2016, there were 10,000 cross-border workers filling a variety of jobs in Dongxing, according to official statistics.

Business between China and Vietnam is booming, with bilateral trade hittig $100 billion in 2016, which has led to an increasing number of Vietnamese workers coming to work in the city during the day.

China's miraculous economic growth since the country's opening up and reform in the late 1970s has benefited its neighbors, including Vietnam, especially in border trade, according to Phung Thi Hue from the Institute of Chinese Studies at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

In addition to traditional trade in goods, some border residents of the two countries have seized opportunities in China's booming e-commerce sector, said the senior researcher.

Figures from data provider Syntun show that China's major e-commerce sites recorded nearly 254 billion yuan (about $38 billion) in sales over 24 hours during this year's Singles' Day on November 11, the name of which derives from the date 11/11 as it resembles four "bare sticks," a term used in China to refer to single people.

Factory opportunities

Besides commuters, an increasing number of Vietnamese workers have been stationed in factories in Guangxi's border cities such as Pingxiang as well as Dongxing.

Dongxing began implementing a pilot scheme in 2015 allowing eight local factories to hire about 1,000 Vietnamese employees for a single stay of up to six months. Now, more than 4,000 Vietnamese workers are hired by nearly 20 factories in the city as the scheme expanded. Pingxiang began its pilot scheme in early 2017.

As a beneficiary of the pilot, Hoang Chunyan works at Dongxing Yicheng Food Development Company, earning at least 2,000 yuan a month, higher than a similar job would offer in her hometown.

The company, with more than 300 Vietnamese workers in the peak season, provides employees with accident insurance, giving its machine workers peace of mind.

Vietnamese employees help relieve the shortage of blue-collar workers in border areas, according to Jiang Liansheng, head of Guangxi's commerce department.

"China's Belt and RoadInitiative will bring closer cooperation between the two countries and border trade will be more prosperous," Phung Thi Hue said.

"Therefore, more and more Vietnamese people are expected to seek jobs in China."

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/1115/c90000-9292710.html

 

[Viet]

In addition to Vietnamese companies buying US products for $12 billion, PetroGas will invest undisclosed sums in gas pipeline and gas exploration project in Alaska. LNG will be later exported to VN. Good stuff: a chinese Bank provides a credit of $43 billion.

 

[frequency]

Plans for a Vietnam 'Sky Forest'

http://www.cnn.com/style/article/ole-scheeren-empire-city-vietnam/index.html

The architect behind some of Asia's most recognizable buildings has unveiled plans for a new skyscraper that he hopes will change the face of Vietnam's largest city. Featuring an observation deck and an urban garden hundreds of feet above the ground, Ole Scheeren's latest project will be built in central Ho Chi Minh City. CNN has been given an exclusive first look at the project.

 

[TaiShang]

Vietnam's foreign reserve hits record high of 46 bln USD
Xinhua, November 17, 2017

HANOI, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's foreign reserve hit an all-time record high of 46 billion U.S. dollars as of mid-November, according to the country's central bank.

Nguyen Minh Hung, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, told local legislators at an ongoing question and answer session that the reserve rose by 1 billion dollars from last month, local online newspaper VnExpress reported on Friday.

The reserve rose by 4 billion dollars from late June this year and by 5 billion dollars from late 2016, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.

Vietnam witnessed a trade surplus of over 1.2 billion dollars in the first 10 months of this year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

 

[AViet]

Vietnam's foreign reserve hits record high of 46 bln USD
Xinhua, November 17, 2017

HANOI, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's foreign reserve hit an all-time record high of 46 billion U.S. dollars as of mid-November, according to the country's central bank.

Nguyen Minh Hung, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, told local legislators at an ongoing question and answer session that the reserve rose by 1 billion dollars from last month, local online newspaper VnExpress reported on Friday.

The reserve rose by 4 billion dollars from late June this year and by 5 billion dollars from late 2016, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.

Vietnam witnessed a trade surplus of over 1.2 billion dollars in the first 10 months of this year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

For Vietnam, it should be $460 billions before we can celebrate.

 

[TaiShang]

Freight train links China with Vietnam
Xinhua, November 22, 2017

NANCHANG, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Freight train services have been launched between Nanchang City in east China's Jiangxi Province and Hanoi in Vietnam.

A train loaded with auto parts and office equipment departed from Henggang Railway Station in Nanchang Wednesday morning, marking the launch of the service.

The train will pass through Pingxiang Pass in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and travel to Vietnam.

The total length of the route is more than 1,700 kilometers.

The journey will take around five days, 15 days less than the original route through sea. The cost is only half that of road transport.

The train service will become regular next year.

"The new service will promote economic and trade cooperation between landlocked Chinese provinces, such as Jiangxi, with Southeast Asia," said Ma Zhihui, an economist with Jiangxi Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

By launching freight train and flight services, landlocked Chinese provinces can exploit the potential of the Belt and Road Initiative and become international logistics centers.

http://www.china.org.cn/china/Off_the_Wire/2017-11/22/content_41929191.htm

 

[Viet]

November 23, 2017 10:00 am JST
Vietnam's leader urges a US return to the TPP
Prime minster also hopes inbound investment will boost country's competitiveness

ATSUSHI TOMIYAMA, Nikkei staff writer

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks with The Nikkei on Nov. 15 in Hanoi. (Photo by Shinya Sawai)

HANOI The remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement should leave the door open for an American return, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told The Nikkei.

 

[TaiShang]

Vietnam launches first container train to China
Xinhua, December 01, 2017

Ratraco under the Vietnam Railway Corporation on Thursday launched the first container train to China from Vietnam's capital Hanoi.

The train transported 20 containers carrying coal, ore and electronic products to the southern Chinese city of Nanning.

After the first trip, Ratraco and its Chinese partner will operate the route with fixed itinerary every Tuesday and Thursday, before increasing the frequency.

Hanoi welcomed a container train from Nanning on Wednesday. The train carried refrigerated containers with new technology, which is expected to meet the demand of transporting frozen goods between the two countries and ease overload in border gates.

The two sides have also worked on the launch of trains from other Chinese localities to Vietnam, facilitating goods exchange with lower transport prices, and creating favorable conditions for the shipment of Vietnamese products to Central Asia, Russia, and Europe through China, Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday.

http://www.china.org.cn/business/2017-12/01/content_50080173.htm

 

[Viet]

Great stuff. the chinese finally realize cooperation is better than confrontation. Soon we will ship products to Europe via rail ways passing chinese territories. also smart Koreans know how to do business with VN. I expect we achieve $1 trillion in exports in 10 years.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/AC/Samsung-readies-Vietnam-R-D-center-for-appliances
Samsung opens a new $600 million to build the center, its second Vietnamese R&D facility after one in Hanoi.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/South-Korea-s-Hyosung-eyes-Japan-market-by-way-of-Vietnam
Hyosung breaks ground for $1.2 billion complex capable of cranking out 600,000 tons of polypropylene a year.

also, Huneed Technologies is expected to open a production line for defence and civil products.

 

[gtiger]

For Vietnam, it should be $460 billions before we can celebrate.

There is no need to have that much foreign reserves (many countries' foreign reserves are lower than that amount, including countries like South Korea, Russia, ...) Too much foreign reserves in US dollars means too much exposure to US monetary and fiscal policies.

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

China becomes Vietnam's biggest export market in January: Vietnamese customs

February 23, 2018

HANOI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China overpassed the United States to become Vietnam's biggest export market in January, the General Department of Vietnam Customs said on Friday.

Vietnam exported roughly 3.7 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods to China last month, up 106 percent against January 2017, said the department.

Specifically, Vietnam exported nearly 895 million U.S. dollars worth of phones and their components to China, a 19-fold increase from January 2017; some 691 million U.S. dollars worth of computers, electronic appliances and components, up 80.1 percent; and 296.3 million U.S. dollars worth of vegetables and fruits, up 68.6 percent.

Last month, Vietnam spent nearly 5.8 billion U.S. dollars importing products from China, said the department.


http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/0223/c90000-9429228.html

 

[Viva_Viet]

China becomes Vietnam's biggest export market in January: Vietnamese customs

February 23, 2018

HANOI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China overpassed the United States to become Vietnam's biggest export market in January, the General Department of Vietnam Customs said on Friday.

Vietnam exported roughly 3.7 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods to China last month, up 106 percent against January 2017, said the department.

Specifically, Vietnam exported nearly 895 million U.S. dollars worth of phones and their components to China, a 19-fold increase from January 2017; some 691 million U.S. dollars worth of computers, electronic appliances and components, up 80.1 percent; and 296.3 million U.S. dollars worth of vegetables and fruits, up 68.6 percent.

Last month, Vietnam spent nearly 5.8 billion U.S. dollars importing products from China, said the department.


http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/0223/c90000-9429228.html

True, Trump wt his protectionism is killing other nations (CN,SK, EU) now. VN is not the victim yet, but we should change our export market to CN and TPP nations

 

[Nilgiri]

Hey @Viet @Carlosa @Aqsuperman @Viva_Viet

I called it almost spot on earlier:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...ch-phones-this-month/articleshow/64024407.cms

Vietnamese handset brand Mobiistar makes India its global HQ; to launch phones this month

NEW DELHI: Vietnamese handset brand Mobiistar is set to enter the Indian smartphone market later this month to take on Chinese brands like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, and has decided to make India its global headquarters to run operations in other countries.

"4G feature phone happened in India, and 4G is growing fast. This is the market where all the major things in the mobile industry are happening in India...We do have a chance to try. succeeded or not, it's too early to tell. This is the market we want to try," Carl Ngo, Group CEO at Mobiistar, told ET.

"After looking at the number and size of the country and growth, I have decided to be based here. The idea is to run global operations by based out of here. I am here full time," he added.

The company has already tied-up with contract manufacturer V-Sun Technologies to locally assemble handsets. "Under this partnership, Vsun will provide the bandwidth that we want basis the demand, and will give priority to us. They can allocate production lines to us in a very fast manner. They have the unit in Haryana. The trial production has already begun," the top executive said.

Mobiistar is also mulling over setting up its SMT (Surface-mount technology) for printed circuit board or PCB assembling in the country.

The handset company is focusing on the selfie camera segment, largely created by Chinese brands like Oppo and Vivo. It will launch products in the Rs 6,000-Rs 10,000 price category initially in the online channel.

"We have to get the right product for the Indian market. We will begin with online but have a plan to go offline and then the price range will be larger," Carl said.

The handset player is looking to launch products, specially made for the Indian market with local research and development. For R&D, it has formed partnerships with chipset vendors and design houses. The brand will have up to 850 service outlets from the day one of launch, which it will increase to 1000 outlets after three months.

"We have to put enough resources into bringing the product to India and then making the brand known to the consumer. We have to service them enough. R&D, supply chain, and more importantly manufacturing...these all are investments," Carl said, without sharing investment figures.

For marketing, the company is planning to ape India's leading handset brand, Xiaomi, which achieved the numero uno position in the country without spending huge marketing dollars like Oppo and Vivo.

"We will largely focus on social media and digital channels, and will directly talk to consumers," Carl said.

The company currently has a team of 50 people, which it wants to increase to 200 by hiring executives for functions such as sales and marketing, and product development.

The handset brand is currently in talks with several telecom operators to ink bundling tie-ups. Mobiistar is among top five handset vendors in Vietnam, India is a part of the company's strategy to expand internationally.

The company has already expanded within South East Asia with countries like Cambodia and is now set to enter into the GCC or Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. "We will start with Dubai in the GCC region," he said.

 

[Viet]

Hey @Viet @Carlosa @Aqsuperman @Viva_Viet

I called it almost spot on earlier:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...ch-phones-this-month/articleshow/64024407.cms

Vietnamese handset brand Mobiistar makes India its global HQ; to launch phones this month

NEW DELHI: Vietnamese handset brand Mobiistar is set to enter the Indian smartphone market later this month to take on Chinese brands like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, and has decided to make India its global headquarters to run operations in other countries.

"4G feature phone happened in India, and 4G is growing fast. This is the market where all the major things in the mobile industry are happening in India...We do have a chance to try. succeeded or not, it's too early to tell. This is the market we want to try," Carl Ngo, Group CEO at Mobiistar, told ET.

"After looking at the number and size of the country and growth, I have decided to be based here. The idea is to run global operations by based out of here. I am here full time," he added.

The company has already tied-up with contract manufacturer V-Sun Technologies to locally assemble handsets. "Under this partnership, Vsun will provide the bandwidth that we want basis the demand, and will give priority to us. They can allocate production lines to us in a very fast manner. They have the unit in Haryana. The trial production has already begun," the top executive said.

Mobiistar is also mulling over setting up its SMT (Surface-mount technology) for printed circuit board or PCB assembling in the country.

The handset company is focusing on the selfie camera segment, largely created by Chinese brands like Oppo and Vivo. It will launch products in the Rs 6,000-Rs 10,000 price category initially in the online channel.

"We have to get the right product for the Indian market. We will begin with online but have a plan to go offline and then the price range will be larger," Carl said.

The handset player is looking to launch products, specially made for the Indian market with local research and development. For R&D, it has formed partnerships with chipset vendors and design houses. The brand will have up to 850 service outlets from the day one of launch, which it will increase to 1000 outlets after three months.

"We have to put enough resources into bringing the product to India and then making the brand known to the consumer. We have to service them enough. R&D, supply chain, and more importantly manufacturing...these all are investments," Carl said, without sharing investment figures.

For marketing, the company is planning to ape India's leading handset brand, Xiaomi, which achieved the numero uno position in the country without spending huge marketing dollars like Oppo and Vivo.

"We will largely focus on social media and digital channels, and will directly talk to consumers," Carl said.

The company currently has a team of 50 people, which it wants to increase to 200 by hiring executives for functions such as sales and marketing, and product development.

The handset brand is currently in talks with several telecom operators to ink bundling tie-ups. Mobiistar is among top five handset vendors in Vietnam, India is a part of the company's strategy to expand internationally.

The company has already expanded within South East Asia with countries like Cambodia and is now set to enter into the GCC or Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. "We will start with Dubai in the GCC region," he said.

I’m sceptical not sure if mibiiistar will succeed. The company faces a strong competition from Chinese handset makers. Production of smartphone is a very complex process requiring lots of money and challenging production chain. Anyway all the best.

some Mobiistar smartphones