Chinese companies contribute about a third of the new investments in Vietnam, which may lead to the country’s exposure to customs duties threatening US President Donald Trump to countries that have achieved major trade surpluses with the United States, according to the British Financial Times.
Vietnam was one of the largest beneficiaries of trade tensions between the two largest economies in the world (America and China), as it achieved its surplus with the United States a record of $ 123.5 billion last year, the third largest surplus after China and Mexico.
This surplus was driven by the exports of companies such as Apple and Intel, which transferred production lines from China to Vietnam to distribute the risk of supply chain and avoid penal customs duties.
But Vietnam also gets increasing investment from Chinese companies, and represents 28% of new projects last year, an increase of 22% in 2023.
“The Chinese capital is forced to come to Vietnam, although it is no longer cheap,” said Mir Talbald, CEO of Sanuk Kirin Konsaling Vietnam, who advises foreign investors.
She added that many Chinese customers are under pressure from buyers in the United States and Europe to move outside China.
She explained that most Chinese industrial investments in Vietnam are carried out to avoid American customs duties and secure a different “certificate of origin” for the goods produced by Chinese companies.
However, the supply chain in Vietnam continues to depend heavily on China, and Talkeld said, “At least half of the raw materials from China.”
In the first month of 2025, Chinese companies constituted 30% of projects, according to the latest government data, and Chinese investments came via Hong Kong and Singapore, which was the largest investor in dollars in Vietnam last year, according to analysts.
Renewed audit
According to the British newspaper, the increase in Chinese investments in Vietnam and its dependence on Chinese raw materials may lead to renewed auditing from the Trump administration, which accused Beijing of circumventing customs tariffs by sending products through third countries.
As with many other countries, Vietnam is highly vulnerable to Trump’s threats to impose mutual customs definitions on the United States’ trading partners, and two weeks ago imposed 25% ago customs definitions on steel imports, which may also affect Vietnam, the fifth largest supplier of the metal For the United States.
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According to the Financial Times, the high tariffs would affect the Vietnam economy, away from investment and curbing one of the fastest growth rates in the world, and the United States acquires nearly 30% of Vietnam’s exports.
“There are fears that the United States may see in increasing Chinese investment in evasion of customs tariffs by Chinese companies,” said Jack Najoen, CEO of England Vietnam, who advises foreign investors in the country.
Most Chinese investments in Vietnam are concentrated in low assembly and manufacturing to average, from cars to solar panels, and the strict restrictions imposed by China during the Koruna’s pandemic have pushed some companies to diversify production areas, including outside the country.
Experts said that a small percentage of Chinese goods was also classified as “made in Vietnam” without any added value and was re -directed to the United States, which is an illegal practice.
Vietnamese procedures
Vietnamese Prime Minister Fam Minh Cennah acknowledged the dangers of his country, and said at the Davos gathering last month that Hanoi was working to develop “political and economic solutions” to address the imbalance of the trade balance.
He added that Vietnam will buy between 50 and 100 aircraft from Boeing in the next ten years, in addition to other high -tech American equipment.
In this month, the Minister of Trade Naguin Hong Din said that Vietnam is ready to increase agricultural imports from the United States and that it will not impose any measures that restrict trade with the United States.
Vietnam may also have to intensify pressure to redirect Chinese products, and the Vietnamese RET chain expert Hong Naguin said that Chinese companies can invest in higher value manufacturing and tighten local content requirements to force them to create a chain Supply in the country.
