Being an important component in the friendly and cooperative relations between Vietnam and China, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern economic and investment hub, is proactively deepening its socioeconomic ties with the neighbor country, said a municipal official.

"Ho Chi Minh City is strengthening exchanges, especially trade and economic ones, with Chinese cities, including the three cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang it is twinned with," Nguyen Van Dua, vice chairman of the municipal People's Committee, told Xinhua in an interview before he led the city's delegation to the 2005 Asia-Pacific Cities Summit which kicked off in the Chinese southwestern city of Chongqing on Wednesday.

More and more Vietnamese enterprises are coming to China to conduct surveys, study and sightsee for better understanding of the Chinese market, he said, noting that many companies in Chongqing municipality and Sichuan Province have traveled to Vietnam to seek business opportunities.

Exchanges as well as trade and economic cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and China have borne fruits. As of late last year, China had 29 large-scale investment projects with combined capital of US$120 million in the city, Dua said, noting that the respective figures in the first eight months of this year were eight projects and US$900,000.

China's New Hope Group has entered the city. A number of well- known Chinese products have won the heart of enterprises and consumers in the city who highly appreciate their competitive edges regarding price, quality and aestheticism.

"The improvement in trade and economic relations between Ho Chi Minh City and China has accelerated cultural exchanges and tourism development. Chinese visitors to our city now ranks the 7th among foreign tourist arrivals," the vice chairman said, adding that many cultural and artistic troupes from the Chinese cities in Guangdong Province and in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have come to the Vietnamese city, helping its residents better understand Chinese culture and arts.

The Chinese Vietnamese community in Ho Chi Minh City plays an important role in its socioeconomic development, which is highly appreciated by the Vietnamese government.

"The city has some 500,000 Chinese Vietnamese people. Their industriousness and intellect impress other people," Dua said, adding that motorbikes made in Chongqing is also very impressive, given that some 30 percent of motorbikes in circulation in Ho Chi Minh City are products of the Chinese city.

Now, Ho Chi Minh City has some 60 large-scale Chinese enterprises, whose production and business activities range from food, foodstuff, animal feed, pharmaceutical to aviation, banking and information technology. Covering an area of 326 hectares, the city-based Linh Trung Export Processing Zone invested by Chinese and Vietnamese partners is the first, the biggest and the most successful export processing zone in Vietnam. Thirty-three foreign investors from such countries and regions as Chinese Taiwan, Chinese Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea have settled in the zone since 2000 with total capital of US$181 million.

The zone had a workforce of nearly 50,150, and made export revenues of US$502 million last year, up from US$255 million in 2001. The partners are inviting contractors to build the Linh Trung 2, which will generate annual export revenues of US$200-300 million and create 30,000-40,000 jobs after completion.

Regarding the summit, Dua said: "During the urbanization process, developing and expanding a city blindly will bring about negative impacts. Seeking an approach for harmonious and effective construction is of common concern of cities in countries."

The participation of the Ho Chi Minh City delegation, whose membership include not only municipal officials, but also urban planning cadres and designers, in the summit is to study from and exchange experiences with other cities in the region, he said.

"The summit's theme "City, Human and Nature" is very interesting. It is expected to seek solutions to development issues in cities today, and put forth suggestions for the construction of modern cities tomorrow," Dua noted.

Therefore, his message to the summit is that let's share experiences, cope with challenges, and seek ways of developing cities in a harmonious way.

Ho Chi Minh City, which has an area of 2,000 square kilometers and population of 6.2 million, is Vietnam's leading economic center and transport joint. The city's gross domestic product (GDP) accounts for one-fourth of the country's.

The city is estimated to post GDP growth of 11 percent in the 2001-2005 period. Its GDP growth stood at 11.5 percent, and export turnover US$9 billion in the first 9 months of this year, Dua said, noting that the respective figures for 2004 were 11.6 percent and US$10 billion.

Along with rapid economic development, the city's residents annually see higher income and living standards. The income per capita is estimated at US$2,000 in 2005, up from US$1,800 in 2004 and US$937 in 1995.

In addition to encouraging local people to enrich themselves, the municipal People's Committee has actively engaged in poverty reduction. The percentage of poor households in the city decreased to zero in 2004 from 20 percent in 1992.

Dua said: "Now, Ho Chi Minh City houses 41 tertiary education establishments, representing one-thirds of the whole country. The city is further tapping intellectuals for high-technology development. The Quang Trung Software Park in the city has so far attracted 70 investors. It has this year gained the Sao Khue award which is annually given to best performers in the local information technology industry.

To foster its development, the city is intensifying improvement in investment environment, upgrading of infrastructure, simplification of procedures for foreign investors, and reduction of import tariffs and licensing fees, Dua concluded.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2005 )