Bringing Vietnam-China relations into a new stage of development

The State visit to China by General Secretary andPresident To Lam has had a great impact on the development trend of relations between the two Parties and two countries in the long term.

General Secretary and President To Lam . (Photo: Nhan Sang/VNA)

At the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and his wife, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam , President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam To Lam and his wife will join a high-ranking delegation of the Party and State to pay a State visit to China from August 18-20, 2024.

The fact that General Secretary and President To Lam accepted the invitation of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping to make his first State visit to China after assuming his new position demonstrates the importance and top priority of both sides in consolidating and developing the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and building the Vietnam-China Community of Shared Future, which has strategic significance.

The visit is a particularly important foreign activity between Vietnam and China this year, having a huge impact on the development trend of relations between the two Parties and two countries in the long term to come.

Over the past 70 years (January 18, 1950 - January 18, 2024), Vietnam-China relations have had ups and downs, but friendship and cooperation have remained the main stream. The friendship that generations of leaders of the two countries have worked hard to cultivate has become a valuable common asset of the two peoples, contributing to maintaining the stable development trend of the traditional Vietnam-China friendship, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries.

In recent times, especially after the historic official visit to China by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2022, the relationship between the two countries has maintained a development trend with positive results. Visits by high-ranking leaders have been actively implemented. Exchanges and cooperation between the two Parties have been maintained regularly. All levels, sectors and localities of the two sides have actively restored delegation exchanges.

2023 marks the 15th anniversary (2008-2023) of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries, an important milestone in the bilateral relationship. Senior leaders of the two sides maintain various forms of exchanges and contacts. After 15 years since the two countries established the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2008, with the motto of "friendly neighbors, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, looking towards the future" and the spirit of "good neighbors, good friends, good comrades, good partners," cooperation in all fields has achieved many positive and comprehensive developments. The relationship between the two Parties and the two countries has continuously expanded and deepened; developed increasingly substantially, firmly, and comprehensively in all fields.

Ceremony to welcome General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping on a State visit to Vietnam. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

Through the State visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and his wife (2023), the two sides will strengthen their sentiments, political trust, and mutual understanding, actively contributing to promoting the traditional solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and China, and further strengthening and deepening the Vietnam-China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership.

After the two countries agreed to deepen and elevate the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and build a "Vietnam-China Community of Shared Future of Strategic Significance" (December 2023), Vietnam-China relations continued to maintain a positive development trend, spreading strongly to all levels and sectors, forming a vibrant, effective and practical cooperative atmosphere.

Politically, political trust has been strengthened, and exchanges and contacts at high and all levels have taken place very closely. The two sides are discussing and identifying a number of new dialogue mechanisms. China expressed its special respect for the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong by having General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping pay his respects at our Embassy; and sent a special representative, Politburo Standing Committee member and Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Wang Huning, to attend the State Funeral.

In addition, economic, trade, investment, tourism and education cooperation has seen many improvements. Trade in the first 6 months of 2024 increased by 24.1%. China continues to lead in the number of newly licensed projects. The number of Chinese tourists in the first 6 months of the year exceeded the total in 2023. Cooperation in education has also increased sharply. Vietnam has 23,000 international students studying in China, double the number before the COVID-19 pandemic. The two sides are also promoting many new cooperation contents on infrastructure and trade facilitation.

2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-China Land Border Treaty and the 15th anniversary of the signing of three legal documents on the Vietnam-China land border.

The signing of the Treaty has completely resolved the issue of land border demarcation between the two countries in terms of law, demonstrating the will and determination of both sides to strive for peace, friendship and cooperation. This event has become a successful model in which both sides resolved border issues through friendly consultation, strongly enhancing the confidence of both sides in dialogue, and effectively resolving disagreements on border and other maritime issues.

Conference to review 25 years of signing the Border Treaty and 15 years of signing three legal documents on the Vietnam-China land border. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

The two sides have well implemented the Vietnam-China Land Border Treaty, and the people living along the border of the two countries are living in peace, harmony, and close together like brothers and sisters. The Vietnam-China border area has become a peaceful and stable border area with bustling trade and travel.

Along with that, people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities have been vibrant, achieving many practical results. To date, nearly 60 provinces and cities of Vietnam have established friendly cooperative relations with Chinese localities. Political-social organizations and localities of both sides have established and periodically organized many cooperation mechanisms and programs.

Emphasizing the important significance of the State visit to China by General Secretary and President To Lam, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Head of the Party Central Committee's External Relations Commission Le Hoai Trung said: “Through the visit, we hope to work with China to promote the implementation of high-level joint agreements, especially those reached during the historic visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China in 2022 and the visit of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping to Vietnam in 2023, in the spirit of strengthening and deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and building a Vietnam-China Community of Shared Future of strategic significance. The joint statement of the visit set out the direction of “6 more”.

According to the Head of the Central External Relations Commission, within the framework of the visit, we will discuss issues of concern to Vietnam as well as promote cooperation with a partner that is both a neighbor, a socialist country and a major country; thereby, consolidating the foreign environment and favorable foreign position, mobilizing external resources for the successful implementation of socio-economic development goals and the implementation of foreign affairs and international integration work set forth by the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress.

Emphasizing that both sides are looking forward to the visit and hope to achieve results in a number of aspects, Party Central Committee member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son believes that, with the special attention and close coordination of both sides, the State visit to China by General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife will be a great success, becoming a new milestone, opening a new development stage for the friendly neighborly relationship, the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, and the Vietnam-China Community of Shared Future of strategic significance.

Through this visit, it is affirmed that Vietnam considers developing relations with China a top priority and a strategic choice; at the same time, it affirms the consistent foreign policy of the Party and State of Vietnam: independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralization of foreign relations; continues to define a comprehensive and modern diplomacy consisting of three pillars: Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy, promoting the pioneering role in creating and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, mobilizing external resources for development, enhancing the position and prestige of the country./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/dua-quan-he-viet-nam-trung-quoc-vao-giai-doan-phat-trien-moi-post970955.vnp