Trade Cooperation between Vietnam and Taiwan (China) over Past Three Decades: Situations and Prospects

Abstract

Vietnam and Taiwan (China) are two dynamic economies that have been growing strongly in East Asia. The relationship between Vietnam and the island of Taiwan is legally unofficial due to the former’s adherence to the “one-China” policy and Hanoi established an official diplomatic relationship with Beijing. Nevertheless, the absence of an official diplomatic relationship does not mean the end of other cooperative relations between Vietnam and the territory. After more than three decades, areas of cooperation between the two sides have increasingly expanded and reaped considerable achievements, especially in economic cooperation. Specifically, Taiwanese enterprises’ investment capital in Vietnam has increased by 28 times and total trade turnover - 53 times, from USD 401 million in 1992 to USD 21.5 billion in 2022. However, Vietnam - Taiwan (China) trade balance has always been in favor of the latter. This paper aims to look back on the situation of their trade cooperation over the past three decades and explain why Vietnam has always run a trade deficit with Taiwan (China). Thenceforth, it gives prospects to trade cooperation between Vietnam and Taiwan (China) in the coming years.