"Geographical adjacency, interconnected highways, railways and harbors will greatly reinforce the cooperative mechanism between China and Viet Nam," said Nguyen Hong Truong, Viet Nam's Vice Minister of Communications.

Nguyen also noted that an array of interconnected highways is under construction or finished and more airlines and a new railway transportation agreement will be opened and signed between the two countries to further facilitate cross-border traveling and transportation.

To achieve win-win results, China needs to propel the construction and manufacture of maritime apparatus and infrastructure such as containers and shipping lanes in the 47 port cities in the China-ASEAN region, so as to improve the technological transportation system and traffic capacity, said Li Xinyuan, Mayor of Qinzhou, a port city in Guangxi.

Sino-Vietnamese challenge

China has been Viet Nam's most important economic partner and fourth largest export destination.

However, the recent violent attacks against Chinese enterprises and staff in Viet Nam will certainly damage the healthy development of China-Viet Nam trade and will also be detrimental to the Vietnamese economy.

By the end of March 2014, China had invested in 1,008 projects with a total registered capital of $7.6 billion, said Viet Nam's Vice Minister of Communications at the forum.

Chinese investments in Viet Nam are quite competitive in the household appliance, telecommunications, texture and clothing industries, said Hu Yifan, chief economist at Haitong Securities.

Apparently, the recent unrest has aroused public concerns over investment security in Viet Nam.

Statistics from a Securities Times report show that, since the beginning of 2014, nine Chinese A-share listed companies have been involved in fund-raising programs or set up branches in Viet Nam. Among them, Ningbo Cixing Co. Ltd. and Jiangsu Lugang Science and Technology Co. Ltd. have suspended their businesses in the country.

China accounts for 15 percent of Vietnamese exports, and contributes 25 percent to its imports. Since Viet Nam mainly imports large quantities of mechanical equipment from China, foreign enterprises in Viet Nam are afraid that their supply chains may be affected by the riots, said Hu.

Though Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung claimed to give a tax-payment extension up to two years to enterprises that were hit by violence, the country has taken a heavy blow and seen a decline in its reputation as a safe investment destination and sightseeing country, which will heavily undermined its growth potentials.

Tourism may be another victim. Chinese tourists are canceling planned trips to the country despite the Vietnamese tourism authority's pledge to ensure the safety of foreign guests.

Official figures show Chinese tourists paid 1.8 million visits to Viet Nam in 2013, giving a significant boost to the Vietnamese economy. According to the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam, the country witnessed the number of foreign tourists in the first quarter of 2014 grow 29.3 percent and the number of Chinese tourists soar by 48.94 percent.

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