Ministry of Foreign Affairs talks about prospects for Vietnam-China railway cooperation

(Dan Tri) - The Foreign Ministry spokesman said that among the documents Vietnam and China have just signed, the two sides have agreed to study and promote the construction of the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong standard gauge railway.

The issues surrounding the Vietnam-China joint statement during the visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and President Xi Jinping were of interest to many press agencies, who raised questions at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the afternoon of December 14. Responding to a question about the two sides agreeing to build a Vietnam-China Community of Shared Future, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said that after 15 years since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, the relationship between the two Parties and the two countries has been continuously expanded and deepened; cooperation in many fields has achieved many positive and comprehensive developments. The two countries maintain contact, dialogue and exchange activities at all sectors and levels, especially high-level visits.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang answers questions about the Vietnam-China joint statement on the afternoon of December 14 (Photo: Manh Quan).

Ms. Hang said that according to the Joint Statement, the two sides agreed to build a community of shared future between Vietnam and China with strategic significance, striving for the happiness of the people of the two countries, for the cause of peace and progress of mankind. The two sides also agreed that the development of relations between the two countries must comply with the United Nations Charter, international law and basic norms of international relations; persistently respect each other, equality, mutual benefit, win-win cooperation, respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity; and persistently resolve disagreements through peaceful measures. "This is also the common future that the two sides share and aim for in accordance with the interests of the two countries, contributing to the trend of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region as well as in the world," the spokesperson affirmed. Regarding the content of the cooperation of the community to share the future of Vietnam and China, Ms. Hang affirmed that the cooperation directions between the two Parties and two countries in the coming time on bilateral levels and in regional and global issues have also been specifically stated in the Joint Statement between the two countries.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping reviewed cooperation documents between ministries, sectors, and localities of the two countries on December 12 (Photo: Dinh Trong Hai).

At the meeting, the press also asked about the prospects and scale of railway cooperation between Vietnam and China, after the two sides signed many cooperation documents in this field. In response, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that among the 36 cooperation documents between Vietnam and China signed during the visit, there were 2 cooperation documents on railways. These are the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Transport of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China on enhancing Vietnam-China railway cooperation; the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Transport of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the General Department of International Development Cooperation of the People's Republic of China on enhancing cooperation in aid for railway development across the Vietnam-China border. Talking about the prospects for cooperation in this field, Ms. Hang informed that the two sides agreed to study and promote the construction of the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong standard gauge railway; research on the Dong Dang - Hanoi - Mong Cai - Ha Long - Hai Phong standard gauge railway lines at an appropriate time. The implementation of these projects will contribute to strengthening cooperation and connectivity between the "Two Corridors, One Belt" framework and the "Belt and Road" initiative.

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