When China imposed punitive tariffs on Australian barley imports last year, grain farmers feared it would decimate a A$2bn industry.

Many container shipping lines have announced further increases in transportation fees starting from late May, causing difficulties for import-export companies.

However loudly U.S. politicians vow to compete with China, they seem happy to quit the field and let Beijing win in one crucial area: trade. If President Joe Biden hopes to build a coalition in Asia to counterbalance China’s rise, he can’t afford such defeatism.

Vietnamese agricultural products have won the taste of Chinese consumers in recent years due to their quality as well as improvement in businesses’ supply capacity, a trade promotion official has said.

In the past couple of decades multinational corporations have invested heavily in China to cut production costs and capitalise on the rapidly growing domestic market. In the process, they turned the country into the factory of the world and a global supply chain hub.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has sent an urgent document to People’s Committees of localities with products exported abroad to ensure the “dual goal” of preventing and controlling COVID-19 prevention and control while maintaining socio-economic development and social security.

Vietnamese products, including various farm produce, were on display at the 7th African Investment and Trade Forum (AFIC7) held in the Algerian capital city of Algiers on May 24 and 25.

On May 25 2012, the former secretary-general of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, said: “Africa Day provides an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of the people and governments of Africa”.

Eric Li’s factory making glass lampshades for companies including Home Depot Inc. is being stretched to its limits with sales doubling their pre-pandemic level.

On May 21, 2021, the Government issued Decree 53/2021/ND-CP on Vietnam’s Preferential Export Tariff and Special Preferential Import Tariff to implement the UKVFTA Agreement for the 2021-2022 period.