On September 9, 2021, the National Assembly of Cambodia ratified the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with China, which aims to increase the trade of goods by reducing and eliminating tariffs and non-tariff barriers.

There is a new mood of optimism around the most recent effort to revive the Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) being spearheaded by Australian Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Dan Tehan and his Indian counterpart, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

Consumers in Sydney in New South Wales state of Australia on September 19 had a chance to taste Vietnamese farm produce as part of the weekend farm produce fair.

Technical barriers on standards, quarantine, food safety and hygiene of countries in general and China in particular are increasing day by day. Enterprises exporting agricultural and aquatic products still maintain the habit of seasonality and fragmentation, which is not suitable for China's drastic changes.

Vietnam’s GDP growth in 2021 is forecast to reach 3.5%-4%, which is lower than the initial target but still requires effort from all levels of government. The business community’s biggest wish now is to be facilitated in resuming operation in the new normal state.

With the COVID-19 outbreak curbed in northern Vietnam, foreign-invested firms in major industrial centres such as Bac Ninh, Bac Giang and Hai Phong are accelerating manufacturing to help revive the economy and realise the dual goal.

The Vietnamese Embassy together with the association of Vietnamese enterprises in the Czech Republic, on September 19, held a forum on promoting trade and investment between the nations.

Localities and firms in the spices and seasoning industry should devise production recovery plans, apply advanced technologies, diversify products and capitalise on recent new-generation free trade agreements to which Việt Nam is a signatory to bolster exports once COVID-19 is brought under control, a senior trade official has said.

The fourth COVID-19 outbreak has forced 13 southwestern provinces into strict social distancing for a prolonged period of time. Despite facing many difficulties, enterprises have managed to maintain production and exports, and many provinces have even recorded export growth compared to 2020.

On Thursday, China applied to join the CPTPP, or Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 11-nation trade deal that represents 13.4% of global GDP.