German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and a 12-member business delegation are in Hanoi to meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to discuss building economic ties.
Hebestreit, who announced the arrival of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Twitter, said Germany wants to position itself “more broadly” economically by building more global trade relations.
At a joint press conference with Chinh, Scholz said Germany wants deeper trade ties with Vietnam. Scholz added that Germany would support Vietnam’s transition to a greener economy.
Vietnam is Germany’s most important trading partner in Southeast Asia. More than 350 German companies are invested in Vietnam’s burgeoning economy with a population of nearly 100 million.
Scholz hopes to strengthen business and diplomatic ties to balance German interests in Asia to reduce dependence on China, while stressing that German foreign policy sees Asia as more than China, the DW reported.
According to a Reuters report, Olaf Scholz discussed energy and trade relations with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during a visit to Hanoi on Sunday, the first for a German leader in more than a decade.
Scholz’s stop in Vietnam on his way to the G20 leaders’ summit in Indonesia highlights Vietnam’s growing role in global supply chains as many German companies consider diversifying their manufacturing operations through their presence outside of China, their main hub in Asia. , expand.
At a joint press conference with Chinh, Scholz said Berlin wanted deeper trade ties with Vietnam and would support the country’s transition to a greener economy, including through the expansion of the metro system in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital.
The visit to Hanoi follows Scholz’s trip to China last week, the first by a Western leader in three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He will then visit Singapore before heading to the G20 summit on November 15-16.
Vietnam and Singapore are the only countries in Southeast Asia that have a free trade agreement with the European Union. This makes them the EU’s largest trading partners in the region.
Germany is Vietnam’s second largest trading partner among EU countries after the Netherlands, with a market capitalization of $7.8 billion last year, according to law firm Dezan Shira – much less real than the United States, China, Japan and South Korea .
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According to the German Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, AHK, about 500 German companies operate in Vietnam, of which about 80 have factories in the country.
Among them are engineering giant Bosch (BOSH.NS), energy company Messer and several smaller companies involved in the global automotive supply chain.
Many more want to diversify some of their activities outside of China, where about 5,000 German companies operate, AHK head in Vietnam, Marko Walde, told Reuters.
More than 90% of German companies planning such a move consider Southeast Asia their preference, Walde said, noting that Vietnam and Thailand were favorites in the region, Walde said. Reuters
