Shipping containers at a port operated by the Saigon Newport Corporation in HCMC. Vietnam ran a trade deficit of US$35.2 billion with neighboring China last year, inching up 3.7% against 2019 – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC - China remained the largest supplier of goods to Vietnam in 2020 as Vietnam ran a trade deficit of US$35.2 billion with the neighboring country last year, up 3.7% against 2019, according to the Department of Asia-Africa Markets under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs indicated that Vietnam had exported products worth US$48.9 billion to China in 2020, up 17.9% year-on-year, while the country had spent US$84.1 billion on imports from China, a year-on-year rise of 11.5%.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and China totaled US$133 billion last year, up 13.8% year-on-year.

The main drivers for the trade growth were processing and manufacturing goods and building materials.

However, some traditional exports of Vietnam faced difficulties while being shipped to China due to the global coronavirus pandemic, with agricultural and fishery products reporting export revenue of US$6.8 billion, down 3.3%.

The Department of Asia-Africa Markets on January 15 said that last year, the global economy and trade activities between Vietnam and China saw many difficulties and challenges. Given the two countries’ efforts in controlling Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, bilateral trade remained stable.