A large number of Da Nang’s businesses are taking initiatives to seek new markets to reduce their over-reliance on the traditional Chinese market.  Their focus is on seeking new markets both domestically and in countries such as Thailand, India, Malaysia and South Korea.  The new trend has come amid the complicated situation in the East Sea due to China’s illegal placement of the HD-981 oil drilling rig in Viet Nam’s territorial waters, along with the current context of low quality imported Chinese products harming human health.  

The Deputy General Director of the Dong Nguyen Company, Mrs Nguyen Thi Cam Van, said that China is no longer a safe market for businesses in Da Nang, or Viet Nam as a whole.  She added that her company is willing to purchase raw materials imported from other foreign countries despite their higher costs.  In addition, special attention is being paid to increasing the use of Vietnamese raw materials in response to the “Vietnamese People Give Priority to Using Vietnamese Goods” campaign.

Many local businesses are seeking new markets to replace the traditional Chinese market

Meanwhile, a representative from the city’s BQ company, which specialises in making shoes, said that in the past about 50% of her company’s input materials were from China.  However, the company is now reducing the proportion to about 10%.  In addition, the company is now shifting its focus to using raw materials from the domestic market, and from India, Thailand, South Korea and other foreign countries.

However, some local businesses are finding it difficult to make the switch to new markets because they have established long-term trading relationships with Chinese businesses for mutual benefit.