China has so far this year invested about 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in Vietnam, making it the country’s fourth largest source of foreign investment, daily newspaper Vietnam News on Thursday quoted the Foreign Investment Agency under the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment as reporting.

Large projects funded by Chinese investors in the four-month period include a tire manufacturing project with registered capital of 280 million U.S. dollars in the southern province of Tay Ninh and another tire project with registered capital of 214.4 million U.S. dollars in the southern province of Tien Giang.

China has been Vietnam’s biggest trade partner since 2004, and bilateral trade has been continuing its strong growth, the newspaper quoted the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade as reporting. China is currently Vietnam’s second largest export market after the United States.

Executive director of the Vietnam National Garment and Textile Group Cao Huu Hieu said one of the bright points contributing to the growth of Vietnam’s textile and garment industry was businesses’ efforts to boost exports to the Chinese market.

China is also the main export market for Vietnam’s agricultural and aquatic products.