China also depends on Vietnam's economy.

China is enjoying favorable relations with Vietnam so it cannot be easily cut off.

The story of interdependence between economies, especially between Vietnam and its neighbor China, is increasingly analyzed and dissected in many ways. It can be seen that Vietnam depends on China, but conversely, China also depends on Vietnam.

Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said: China is taking bad actions in trade, such as: banning border gates, banning bidding, but they cannot massively withdraw because the economic relationship between Vietnam and China is a relationship between large corporations in the world such as: Samsung, Nokia... Besides, China is enjoying advantages so it cannot cut off this relationship. In case China does not follow the common rules, the image of this country will get worse and worse.

Take the initiative in relationships...

Presenting the current situation of the textile and garment industry, Ms. Dang Phuong Dung - General Secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association said that the industry is currently focusing too much on exports (accounting for 86% of production capacity), while being too dependent on imported fabrics (accounting for 86% of total demand), especially from China (46%). The "Bottleneck" situation at the dyeing and weaving stage in Vietnam's textile and garment supply chain is also a challenge.

For long-term and sustainable development, according to Ms. Dang Phuong Dung, the textile and garment industry maintains a strategy of increasing the localization rate by calling for domestic and foreign investment in the sectors where we are weak. These are weaving, dyeing, and finishing. Participating in trade agreements is also an opportunity for us to attract foreign investment and share benefits together when the conditions are met.

“In 2013, we attracted many investment projects in the fields of weaving, dyeing and finishing. This will be the best solution to increase the localization rate and increase the competitiveness of the textile and garment industry. We also take advantage of the benefits of FTAs ​​and TPP,” said Ms. Dung.

Vietnam's wood and forestry industry does not depend on raw materials from China. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Ton Quyen of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, although the export value of wood and wood products from Vietnam to China is high (in 2013 it reached 740 million USD), the added value is low, the profits are low and hinder sustainable forest management. Because Chinese traders mainly buy wood products in the form of preliminary processing, using outdated, old and environmentally unfriendly equipment and technology...

In addition, taking advantage of the lack of information from forest growers, many Chinese traders have bought young forests, causing losses to the state, businesses and people. The purchase price of 1 m3 of small diameter wood from young planted forests is only 800,000 - 1,000,000 VND/m3 and the yield is only 60-70 m3/ha. If those young forests are nurtured for another 2-3 years, there will be trees with a diameter of 18-25cm that can be sold for 2.5-3.0 million VND/m3 with a yield of 100-120 m3/ha.

From the current situation, Mr. Nguyen Ton Quyen suggested: "There needs to be a strategy and autonomy in dealing with the situation of China buying up and plundering Vietnam's forest resources."

China's investment in Vietnam is also the reason for the increase in import turnover. By the end of 2011, China had more than 820 investment projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of 4.2 billion USD, ranking 14th among countries and regions investing in Vietnam. Chinese contractors won many projects in Vietnam.

Vietnam is always at a disadvantage.

According to economic experts, in this integration period, we cannot say that we have to be 100% self-sufficient but must participate in global supply chains. When we participate proactively, we have better advantages.

Looking more clearly at the current state of the Vietnam-China economic relationship, economic expert Nguyen Minh Phong said: Vietnam is under pressure from a trade deficit with China that is increasing in both scale and proportion; especially the trade deficit with China always accounts for a high proportion of the country's total trade deficit.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Phong's analysis, the value of the trade deficit with China is mostly concentrated in raw materials, components, assembly and processing, and machinery and equipment serving export production. Thus, in essence, Vietnam is playing the role of an export bridge (at low cost) for China's strong industries. This development pushes the Vietnamese economy deeper and deeper into a state of dependence on China and only plays the role of a low-cost processing plant. While the trend of boycotting Chinese goods is spreading globally, Vietnam will certainly be affected if it continues to play the role of helping Chinese goods "borrow the way" to penetrate the world market as it does now.

In trade and investment, China has many promotional methods to gain export advantages such as promotions, advance payments for importers, clearing payments, and currency exchanges to encourage Vietnamese traders to import. At some cross-border trade cooperation forums, Chinese experts have encouraged the use of yuan for trading. The use of yuan with spontaneous currency exchange services at the border has stimulated the import of Chinese goods.

In the current situation, to increase the capacity of domestic enterprises, along with promoting "Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods", Vietnamese enterprises and agencies need to increase ordering, using raw materials and products of each other... as practical acts of patriotism and contributing to building a self-reliant and strong economy...

According to the newspaper