On September 16, at the opening ceremony of the 19th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the 19th China-ASEAN Business Investment Summit (CABIS) held in Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh of Vietnam made a speech. speech.
He praised the important achievements ASEAN and China have made over the years, especially the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, security, prosperity and sustainable development. At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister said that in the context of complex and unexpected changes in the regional and global situation, supply chains are still affected by the new crown epidemic, and fuel and raw material costs have risen in many countries and regions. ASEAN countries and China should continue to strengthen cooperation to deal with challenges and accelerate the sustainable recovery of the market after the outbreak of the new crown epidemic.
He stressed the need to take full advantage of the opportunities of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) to facilitate bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner.
The Deputy Prime Minister hopes that the Chinese government will create more favorable conditions to increase the import of furniture and agricultural products from Vietnam and other ASEAN countries via Vietnam.
According to data from the General Administration of Vietnam Customs, in August, Vietnam's furniture exports fell for the first time year-on-year after growing continuously over the past two years. Data show that from January to August, Vietnam's furniture exports fell by 3% to 7.77 billion US dollars. Previously, the minimum growth rate was 8-9%.
The furniture export value of many companies in the country after July fell by more than 30% compared with a single month in the first half of the year, and even reached 70% to 80%. The recent runaway inflation in the US and Europe has affected import demand, which has a direct impact on Vietnam's exports of wood and wood products.
In addition, as the export orders of most companies in Vietnam began to plummet, factories were gradually shutting down and the ensuing labor crisis was being staged in various manufacturing industries across Vietnam.
Recently, Nguyen Liem, chairman of the Binh Duong Furniture Association of Vietnam and chairman of wood products manufacturer Lam Viet, revealed to the media that since the beginning of this year, his company’s orders have decreased by about 40%. He said that many timber companies in Vietnam have also experienced a drop in orders, with some companies reporting a 60% drop in orders.