Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai (Photo: VNA) He said that this is the first official visit by a Vietnamese Party and State leader to China after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, and the first overseas trip the Party leader after the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).
Party General Secretary Trong has become the first high-level foreign guest to China after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), he noted.
The ambassador said that the meeting between Party General Secretary Trong and General Secretary of the CPC and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be the first between leaders of the two Parties in five years since 2017.
The diplomat underlined that Vietnam and China are two neighbouring socialist countries that are carrying out renewal, reform and opening. Their long-lasting traditional friendship has been nurtured by generations of leaders and peoples of both countries, and become an invaluable treasure shared by both nations.
In the current situation, further consolidating and strengthening the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership is in line with the fundamental and long-term interests of the two sides, beneficial to maintaining of peace, stability and the promotion of cooperation in the region and the world, he said.
According to the ambassador, the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has been growing in a stable and positive manner with many important achievements recorded in all fields.
High-level meetings and exchanges have been conducted regularly in flexible forms, making important contributions to the strengthening of political trust between the two Parties and countries.
Particularly after the 13th National Congress of the CPV, leaders of the Party, State, Government and National Assembly of the two countries held phone calls and online talks, sketching out major important orientations and creating a strong impetus to the promotion of bilateral friendship and win-win partnership in a stable and healthy manner. Cooperation and exchanges through Party, diplomatic, defence and public security channels as well as among border localities and people-to-people contacts between the two countries have been maintained. The two sides successfully organised the 14th meeting of the Vietnam-China Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation in July 2022, he noted.
At the same time, bilateral economic and trade ties have expanded stably.
China has continued to be the largest trade partner and the second biggest export market of Vietnam, while Vietnam is China's largest trade partner among the ASEAN countries, and the sixth in the world.
Exporting activities at Tan Thanh border gate (Photo: VNA) In the first nine months of this year, China invested 1.5 billion USD in Vietnam and became the fourth biggest investor in Vietnam. The figure pushed the total Chinese investment in Vietnam so far to 22.44 billion USD, making China the sixth biggest investor in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, cooperation in the pandemic fight has been fruitful. China was one of the countries to provide the largest amount of vaccines to Vietnam.
People-to-people exchange has recovered, he said, adding that in the first nine months of this year, 78,100 Chinese people traveled Vietnam, 1.7 times that in the same period last year.
Vietnam and China have also coordinated closely in implementing legal documents regarding shared land border and the strengthening of security and safety management in the border area, while reaching common perspectives on controlling differences, maintaining peace and stability at sea in line with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.
Vietnam and China have also worked actively to promote dialogue mechanisms over issues on the sea, effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and speeding up the consultation process for a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
Besides, they have also coordinated with each other at multilateral forums to promote peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world, ensuring the central role of the ASEAN and the implementation of the UN Charter and international law, Ambassador Mai said.
However, he held that due to negative impacts of the pandemic, the cooperation between Vietnam and China has faced a number of difficulties, including those in customs clearance at border gates, and the slow resumption of direct air routes. However, the two sides have been discussing with each other through various channels to seek solutions to the problems, he added.
In order to further promote the potential and strengths of the bilateral ties, the ambassador underlined the need to increase the exchange at high and all levels, further reinforce the political trust and ensure the strict and full implementation of common perceptions reached by senior leaders of the two countries as well as bilateral agreements signed between ministries, sectors and localities of Vietnam and China.
Alongside, it is necessary to work together to remove difficulties and obstacles, strengthening and enhancing the substantial cooperation quality in all fields.
The diplomat expresses his belief that with the current advantages, potential, needs and achievements of the bilateral relationship, together with the determination and joint efforts of the two Parties, countries and peoples, the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership Vietnam and China will enter a new stage of development with a firmer foundation of friendship and partnership./.
VNA
