VINACHEM

Both countries have consented to improve the effectiveness of economic and trade partnerships, with priority given to strengthening strategic transport connectivity, facilitating socio-economic exchanges, and contributing to China’s cooperation with Southeast Asia.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held talks with Wang Yi, member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Director of the Office of the CPC Central Committee’s Commission for Foreign Affairs and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, in Guangxi province on April 4.

The talks, part of Minister Son’s official visit to China, were the first meeting between the two foreign ministers since their countries agreed to elevate the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and build a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

Since the historic visits by Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China in October 2022 and by Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping to Vietnam in December 2023, bilateral relations have grown steadily and  achieved important results. Particularly, both sides’ senior leaders concurred to identify a new status for the countries’ relations, and issued a joint statement on continuing to deepen and elevate the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and build a community with a shared future of strategic significance.

The two diplomats affirmed the leading importance of the Vietnam - China relations in each country’s foreign policy, underlining the need to boost coordination and effectively carry out the high-level agreements and common perceptions so as to unceasingly develop bilateral ties in a healthy, stable, and sustainable fashion.

They consented to maintain frequent high-level exchanges and meetings, reinforce cooperation between the two Parties, and work together to properly organise high-level diplomatic activities between the two countries in 2024, the 16th meeting of the Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation, along with dialogue, exchange, and cooperation mechanisms in the fields of defence - security and justice.

They were of the same mind about intensifying people-to-people exchanges, stepping up communications on the countries’ traditional friendship as well as each country’s achievements in reform and opening, and stepping up exchange and cooperation mechanisms between Vietnamese and Chinese localities.

Vietnam and China will go ahead with closer coordination and mutual support within multilateral frameworks, and working closely with each other in land border management and protection in line with the three legal documents on land border and related agreements; actively open, upgrade, and recognise pairs of border gates; and accelerate the building of smart border gates, they said.

Regarding to sea-related issues, the two sides emphasized the importance of seriously implementing the agreements and common perceptions reached between the two Parties and countries’ leaders on properly controlling and settling differences; fully, comprehensively, and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC); and joining ASEAN member states in accelerating negotiations and soon finalizing a substantive, efficient, and effective code of conduct (COC) in the waters that matches international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

FM Son asked both sides to augment balanced and sustainable economic - trade cooperation.

He called on China to continue facilitating and increasing the import of Vietnam’s agricultural products, create conditions for early establishing some trade promotion offices of Vietnam in Chinese localities, and actively tackle problems of some industrial cooperation projects. He also suggested China accelerate railway connection with northern Vietnamese provinces, expand economic corridors in the “Two Corridors, One Belt” region to Chongqing of China, soon set up a working group for tourism promotion, increase commercial flights, and further push up people-to-people ties as well as exchanges between border localities.

For his part, Wang asked the two sides to enhance the strategic connectivity between the “Belt and Road” Initiative with the “Two Corridors, One Belt” framework, and tighten economic, trade and investment links.

China will actively consider expanding the import of goods, farm produce, and aquatic products from Vietnam, he said, noting that it supports road transport connectivity and the building of smart border gates to facilitate customs clearance; backs stronger educational and tourism ties. The country will coordinate more closely with Vietnam at regional and international multilateral forums, he went on to say.

The same day, Minister Son examined the pilot operation of the landscape site of Ban Gioc (Vietnam) - Detian (China) Waterfalls.   – VOV –