According to customs statistics in China, the bilateral trade volume between China and Vietnam in 2005 climbed by 21.6 percent over the previous year to total US$ 8.19 billion, among which China's exports to Vietnam accounted for US$ 5.64 billion, up 32.5 percent, while China's imports from Vietnam registered a 2.8 percent growth to reach US$ 2.55 billion. China enjoyed a surplus of US$ 3.09 billion in trade with Vietnam. China mainly exported to Vietnam fossil fuels, mineral oils and their products, machinery and equipment, steel and related products, chemical fertilizers, cotton, textile products, garments and accessories, and motor vehicles. China's imports from Vietnam included, among others, minerals, mineral oils and their products, rubber and related products, electrical machinery and equipment, audio-video appliances and their spare parts, timber and timber-work, fruits, furnaces, mechanical devices and their spare parts.

According to China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), in 2005, the turnover of the completed engineering contracts by Chinese companies in Vietnam added up to US$ 280 million, with the volume of the newly signed engineering contracts running into US$ 1,140 million; the turnover of the completed labor service cooperation contracts by Chinese firms in Vietnam came out at US$ 15.77 million, with the volume of the newly signed labor contracts standing at US$ 10.93 million; the turnover of the completed designing and consulting contracts by Chinese companies in Vietnam amounted to US$ 8.16 million, with the volume of the newly signed such contracts reaching US$ 8.01 million. By the end of 2005, the accumulated turnover of the engineering contracts completed by Chinese businesses in Vietnam had arrived at US$ 1,100 million, with that of all the signed engineering contracts standing at US$ 2,550 million, and the accumulated volume of the completed labor service cooperation contracts reached US$ 176 million, with that of the total signed labor contracts running to US$ 210 million.

Upon the approval or on the record of MOFCOM, 37 Chinese-funded non-financial enterprises were established in Vietnam in 2005, with a contractual investment of US$ 55.22 million from the Chinese investors. By the end of 2005, a total number of 146 Chinese-invested non-financial companies had been set up in Vietnam, with a contractual investment of US$ 170 million.

According to the figures of MOFCOM, Vietnamese firms invested in 12 projects in China in 2005, with a contractual investment of US$ 3.29 million and an actual utilization of US$ 1.27 million.