'Doing business with China, if you are not careful, you will only lose money'

National Assembly Delegate Le Thanh Van, member of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee, said that caution is needed when borrowing VND7,000 billion to invest in the Van Don - Mong Cai expressway (96km) from a Chinese bank.

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“The lesson of the Cat Linh - Ha Dong elevated railway project has shown us that doing business with China, if we are not careful, will only lead to losses. That is not to mention, when we build this road, we must calculate our benefits and China's benefits,” delegate Van recommended.

According to delegate Van, mobilizing capital for transport infrastructure is very necessary at present, but it is not necessary that we mobilize capital at all costs, regardless of national security, regardless of the environment, regardless of negative impacts in capital use.

“The question is why is China so eager to invest in us? Why is that route so welcomed by China? In my opinion, we need to calculate the benefits for both sides. For China, this is an opportunity for them to reach out to us in terms of transportation, to bring their goods to us faster, and to collect our goods to them faster,” delegate Van expressed concern.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Duc Kien, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Economic Committee

But the important thing is, when dealing with China, let's take the lesson from the Cat Linh - Ha Dong high-speed railway project. At first, they offered cheap prices, then they found every way to increase the investment capital.

“In this 7,000 billion VND project, I not only did not mention that but also talked about the binding conditions of the Chinese side. When they lend, the technology, the materials... are all theirs, how can we control them? The obvious lesson of the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway is that the capital has almost doubled now. I suggest that the Government be extremely cautious about this issue, personally I do not agree,” delegate Van expressed his opinion.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Duc Kien, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Economic Committee, said that borrowing ODA capital is the same from any country because the interest rate is usually low.

“ODA loans do not distinguish where the money comes from, but more importantly how the money is invested in our country. Accordingly, we must handle, manage, and use this capital source effectively to bring the most benefit to the country, avoiding cases like the Cat Linh – Ha Dong elevated railway project or the Hanoi rapid bus project,” delegate Kien analyzed.

Mr. Kien said that ODA loans often have conditions attached such as appointing their own contractors, bringing their own people to work... This must be negotiated by the agency receiving the ODA capital.

Mr. Kien said that at this time, there is no other investor other than Chinese investors lending ODA capital to Vietnam. However, we still have other options.

“Choosing to borrow Chinese ODA capital is only one of three options. The ability to mobilize domestic capital is currently very limited, the room to do so is limited, so we have to balance those possibilities. We can also delay or delay the project implementation progress, or we can borrow a loan from the World Bank or ADB... There are many options, but all must be researched and considered to make a final decision, choosing the option that is most beneficial for the country,” Mr. Kien analyzed.

Sharing the same view, National Assembly delegate Truong Minh Hoang, Ca Mau delegation, also said that which country lends money is not so important, but how we borrow, what interest rate, what are the borrowing conditions. Whether the borrowing conditions are dependent or not, we have to consider.

“Not only when borrowing from China, but with any country, we must also consider the conditions attached. We do not necessarily have to borrow at all costs, attract investment at all costs, but we can calculate whether the factors affecting our interests are damaged or not, and whether our people benefit,” delegate Hoang emphasized.

According to Tran Giang/danviet