It is our economic achievements making low and middle industries leave for Vietnam: former Shenzhen mayor
Shenzhen Photo: VCG
"It is the achievements in Guangdong that is making low and middle industries leave and head for Vietnam," Tang Jie, former Shenzhen mayor said at a forum on Saturday.
His remarks came after being asked why the exports of China's tech hub Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province had been surpassed by Vietnam recently.
The move of a large number of industries to Vietnam to Southeast Asia reflects the achievements of Guangdong's economic development. It is because of these achievements that has led to low-and middle industries leaving, said Tang, who is now a professor of Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen.
Vietnam's per capita income is about one-tenth of ours, so a lot of industries will move to Vietnam. I think this is "unstoppable," he added.
Data showed that Shenzhen exported about 120 billion yuan ($178 billion) worth of exports in March, a year-on-year decrease of 14 percent, while Vietnam's export value for the same month was equivalent to about 227.57 billion yuan, almost twice that of Shenzhen, recording a year-on-year increase of 14.8 percent.
Vietnam received $7.71 billion in foreign direct investment in the first five months of 2022, up 7.8 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said.
Regarding the decline in Shenzhen's exports in the first quarter of this year, market watchers said it was mainly affected by the disturbance of the epidemic and a contraction in demand.
In February, the rapid spread of the epidemic in Hong Kong and the obstruction to cross-border logistics and transportation in Shenzhen and Hong Kong put Shenzhen's foreign trade under significant pressure.
In the first quarter of this year, Shenzhen's exports to Hong Kong dropped by 19.2 percent, as Shenzhen-Hong Kong trade occupies an important position in Shenzhen's overall exports.
Market watchers also said the rapid growth of exports in Vietnam are also attributed to the fact that many areas that were stagnant due to the severe impact of the epidemic have now fully resumed work and production, and Vietnam has its advantages in new foreign investment and labor costs.
By the end of 2021, the labor salary of Vietnam's basic production industry was between a range of 1,500 yuan and 2,000 yuan, according to official data.
Chinese job hunting platform Zhilian Zhaopin said in April that the average salary of Shenzhen in the first quarter was 12,592 yuan, ranking the third in China.
While Tang warned that Shenzhen should also take a cautious attitude toward the rising exports in Vietnam. "What we really need to solve is to climb up the high-end manufacturing industry," he said.
Global Times
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