Vietnam’s gross domestic product grew by an estimated 5.73 per cent in the first half of this year. Its economy has expanded at a faster rate than expected, even if the official growth target of 6.7 per cent, set by the National Assembly, is not met.

The United States is the largest market for Vietnamese goods in 2017 so far, while China remains the top exporter to Vietnam. Exports and imports went up 18.9 per cent and 24.1 per cent, respectively.

Director of the General Statistic Office, Nguyễn Bích Lâm, warned that Vietnam will have to strive during the last half of the year to meet the annual growth target, according to VietnamNews.

Vietnam has been invited to attend the upcoming G20 Summit. It is the second time that Vietnam has been invited to a G20 Summit and related meetings. The country attended the G20 meetings, in both the Republic of Korea and Canada, when it assumed the Chair of ASEAN in 2010.