Analysis of the competitiveness and complementarity of China-Vietnam bilateral agricultural commodity trade

by Jinjin Tian, Yulin Zhu, Thi Bich Nhi Hoang, Benjamin Kofi Tawiah Edjah

Vietnam’s agricultural exports to China have remained strong, with the country maintaining its position as the top destination for Agri-products. This article primarily utilizes the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) Index, and Trade Complementarity (TC) index to examine the trade comparative advantage, and the complementary of twenty major agricultural products between China and Vietnam from 2012 to 2021. The study results showed that Vietnam and China frequently exchange agricultural products. Vietnam has more stronger competitiveness than China in terms of agricultural products. China’s exports to Vietnam were highly complementary to Vietnam’s imports in category 0 whiles Vietnam’s exports to China showed strong complementarity with China’s imports in category 2. This paper analyzes the complementarity and comparative advantages of agricultural trade between China and Vietnam, and proposes informed suggestions for policy-making to promote agricultural trade between the countries. The proposed suggestions aim to expand agricultural trade between the two countries, reduce the trade imbalance, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.