According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, China has been Vietnam’s biggest importer with turnover of nearly 56 billion USD, up 37 times from the figure in 2002. Notably, the group of processed and manufactured goods makes up roughly 78% of Vietnam’s total export value to China. Meanwhile, machines and production materials accounted for up to over 94% of Vietnam’s import revenue from the neighbouring country. Over the past two years, the bilateral trade still exceeded 100 billion USD despite  impacts from the pandemic. Under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, China has cut tariffs for more than 8,000 items imported from Vietnam, including farm produce. The Chinese side affirmed that China attaches importance to economic and trade ties with Vietnam, and proposed some orientations and measures to step up the two-way trade. The official visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, from October 30 to November 2, is also expected to deepen the trade ties between the two countries./.