Hanoi (VNA) – The Party, State and people of Vietnam always attach importance to the friendship with China, consideri🀅ng this a persistent guideline, a strategic choice and 💙a top priority in the country’s foreign policy, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The PM made the affirmation at a meeting in Hanoi on November 9 with Zhang Dejiang, permanent Politburo member and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China (NPC). Phuc welcomed the close and result-oriented cooperation between the Vietnam National Assembly (NA) and the NPC, saying he hopes that the two legislative bodies will deepen their comprehensive cooperation in a pragmatic manner. The Government leader expressed his delight at the outcomes of the talks between NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and NPC Chairman Zhang Dejiang, during which the two sides reached important common perceptions on enhancing relations between the two Parties, countries and parliaments. The host noted his belief that Zhang Dejiang’s Vietnam visit will contribute to consolidating and developing the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership stably and sustainably. PM Phuc appreciated the fact that the two countries have maintained the positive development trend of the bilateral cooperation in the spirit of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. Leaders of the two countries have held regular meetings and reached important shared awareness on deepening relations between the two Parties and States in a stable and sustainable fashion, he said. At the same time, the affiliation between the two countries’ ministries, agencies, localities and people have also been tightened, the PM said, citing economic-trade achievements with two-way trade in the first nine months of this year hitting 51.03 billion USD, up 4 percent year-on-year. To enhance the bilateral relations, he suggested the two countries maintain high-level meetings, increase mutual political trust and regularly conduct strategic exchanges. The first thing to do is to focus on seeking satisfactory solutions to outstanding economic-trade issues, take drastic and effective measures to gradually balance the bilateral trade, help the two countries’ businesses remove difficulties in joint projects and continue planning new cooperation schemes in accordance with development requirements in each country, including in infrastructure connectivity and production capacity collaboration, he said. The PM stressed that Vietnam welcomes Chinese firms to expand their cooperation and investment in Vietnam, especially large-scale high-tech projects that are environmentally friendly. He called on the two countries to partner with each other to effectively implement the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation signed recently. Vietnam and China should expand their affiliation in transport, agriculture, environment, science-technology, education and tourism, and soon extend the agreement on the hotline for unexpected fishery incidents arising at sea while joining hands with each other to properly address fishery-related matters, he said. The PM also suggested joint research in creating varieties of rice and plants resistant to drought and saltwater intrusion. He urged the two countries to well manage their disputes and maintain peace and stability in the East Sea, explaining that the maintenance of peace and stability in the sea matches their strategic and long-term interests. In a parallel effort, the two sides should observe common perceptions reached by their high-ranking Party and State leaders as well as the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea - related issues, and respect each other’s legitimate rights in line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Vietnam hopes to continue working with China and other ASEAN nations to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in 2017, the PM stressed. PM Phuc used the occasion to invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Vietnam and attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in 2017. For his part, Zhang Dejiang emphasised that the Chinese Party and Government attach great importance to the relationship with Vietnam and will work together with the country to realise the 16-word motto of “friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, durable stability and looking toward the future” and the four-good spirit of “good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good partners,” thus boosting the bilateral relationship in a comprehensive manner. He said the bilateral cooperation has developed tangibly across fields over the years thanks to joint efforts, noting that the important task is to effectively actualise common perceptions agreed by the two countries’ leaders. Zhang Dejiang voiced his hope that Vietnam and China will work to create a firm foundation for their cooperation, particularly in politics, in order to promote the stable and sustainable development in each nation. They should increase discussion on strategies on the development of relations between the two Parties and States, thus orienting the development of cooperation between the two countries, he proposed. In the same vein, the two countries need to promote people-to-people exchanges in a bid to create favourable conditions for the expansion of the bilateral cooperation, the guest said. Zhang Dejiang was of the view that maritime disputes should be addressed satisfactorily to prevent them from escalating and expanding, thereby affecting the bilateral collaboration. He urged the steering committee on bilateral cooperation to roll out pragmatic and comprehensive cooperation orientations with attention paid to the economic and trade sector. Besides, it is necessary for Vietnam and China to look at limitations in their relationship, as reflected through the delay of several joint projects, and take measures to enhance their affiliation in finance and investment, he said. Prompt actions are needed to foster their maritime cooperation so as to create a good climate for collaboration in road and finance, as well as partnerships between their businesses, the guest said. He said China is committed to continue boosting connectivity between the “one belt, one road” and the “two corridors, one belt,” thus creating an open space for bilateral cooperation as well as development in each nation. Zhang Dejiang called on the two countries to continue their close coordination at multilateral forums like Mekong-Lancang, beef up cooperation in production capacity and reach consensus on a master plan on building border economic cooperation areas, contributing to strengthening the bilateral friendship as well as the affiliation between the two Parties, States and people.-VNA