HCM City (VNA) – The Ho Chi MinhCity Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) held a gathering on January 18 tocelebrate the 71st founding anniversary of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations(January 18, 1950 - 2021).

In his remarks, Chairman of the Vietnam-ChinaFriendship Association in HCM City Duong Quan Ha said the two countries areneighbours with a time-tested friendship. Their relations, nurtured by latePresidents Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong and generations of leaders, were liftedto the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and have beenflourishing, bringing about common benefits for their people.

On the basis of their partnership, Party andState leaders of Vietnam and China have held many mutual visits and onlinetalks over the past years to strengthen the traditional friendship, which isconsidered a precious spiritual asset of the two countries’ people.

The encouraging outcomes of bilateral ties, aswell as the development and stability of each nation, have consolidated theconfidence in a new stage of stronger and more substantive development of theirrelations this year and the time to come, Ha noted.

He also highlighted the fruitful friendship andcooperation between the HUFO, the Vietnam-China Friendship Association in HCMCity and the Chinese Consulate General and Chinese businesses here, noting thatthey have cooperated in friendship, cultural, and social activities so as toenhance mutual understanding between the people of HCM City and Chineselocalities, thus contributing to their countries’ friendship.

For his part, Chinese Consul General to HCM CityWu Jun emphasised that over the last 71 years, China-Vietnam relations have becomea role model of ties between socialist nations.

In recent years, he added, under the directleadership of the two countries’ top Party leaders and thanks to commonefforts, bilateral ties have been growing well with cooperation increasinglysubstantive in all fields, from politics and economy, to people-to-peoplediplomacy.

Notably, in 2020, the countries carried out awide range of joint activities to fight against COVID-19, assist the settlementof natural disasters’ consequences, and promote trade and investment links.

Wishing the Communist Party of Vietnam asuccessful 13th National Party Congress, the diplomat pledged to cooperate withthe HUFO in people-to-people diplomatic activities so as to foster thesustainable development of the countries’ comprehensive strategic cooperativepartnership./.