At the ongoing 13th China-ASEAN Expo in Guangxi, Vietnamese Minister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia said inter-connectivity between the two countries will significantly improve in the remaining months of 2016 and particularly in 2017.
According to him, Vietnamese regions neighboring China are now soliciting investment in expressways and also expect Chinese loans.
Nghia made the remarks at a meeting on the sidelines of the expo, where Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc led a large ministerial delegation and attempted to persuade Chinese tycoons to invest in his country.
On his first visit to China since he took office in July, Phuc called more than 200 Chinese business people "comrades," saying that the Vietnamese government and the people were very glad to receive Chinese investment.
Phuc received not only warm applause but also deals worth a total of 3 billion U.S. dollars at the expo.
China is Vietnam's largest trading partner. In 2015, bilateral trade grew 14.6 percent to 95.8 billion U.S. dollars. This year, Vietnam overtook Malaysia to become China's largest trading partner within ASEAN.
Premier Li Keqiang met with Phuc in Beijing on Monday, saying the two countries needed to continue maritime, land and financial cooperation.
China and Vietnam should also work on bilateral and sub-regional development strategies and strengthen cooperation on infrastructure construction, production capacity, trade and investment, said Li.