Foreign relations activities are of particular importance and have a significant impact on the development trend of Vietnam-China relations.

The State visit to China is the first overseas trip of General Secretary and President To Lam in his new capacity; it is a particularly important diplomatic activity between Vietnam and China this year, with a great impact on the development trend of relations between the two Parties and two countries in the long term.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son gave an interview ahead of the state visit to China by General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife.

Minister, could you please share your expectations regarding the State visit to China by General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife?

Minister Bui Thanh Son : The State visit to China is the first overseas trip of General Secretary and President To Lam in his new position; it is a particularly important diplomatic activity between Vietnam and China this year, with a great impact on the development trend of relations between the two Parties and two countries in the long term.

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 both sides place on consolidating and developing the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and building a strategically significant Vietnam-China community with a shared future. Both sides are very much looking forward to the visit and expect to achieve results in the following areas:

First, Building upon the foundation of relations meticulously cultivated by the leaders of both countries, including the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other Vietnamese leaders, we will continue and further develop the positive and favorable development trends of Vietnam-China relations achieved after the historic reciprocal visits of the top leaders of the two Parties and countries in recent times; maintain high-level strategic exchanges, consolidate the foundation of political trust, and strengthen the direction for the development of bilateral relations in the new phase.

Secondly, The two sides agreed on major directions and measures to effectively build a strategically significant Vietnam-China Community of Shared Future, based on the "six more" orientation; focusing on continuing to concretize the high-level common understanding and signed agreements; bringing substantive cooperation to new progress, especially in areas of mutual interest such as railway connectivity, agricultural trade, high-quality investment, finance and monetary affairs, culture and tourism, and people-to-people exchanges...

Third, Through frank, sincere, and substantive exchanges on territorial border issues, we can jointly address existing problems appropriately, better control and resolve disagreements at sea, and prevent maritime issues from affecting the healthy development of relations between the two Parties and countries, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

I am confident 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 and opening a new phase of development for the friendly neighborly relations, comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and shared future community between Vietnam and China, which have strategic significance.

Minister, could you please assess the achievements of cooperation between Vietnam and China in the recent past?

Minister Bui Thanh Son : After more than 30 years of normalization, especially over 15 years since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework in 2008, Vietnam-China relations have made rapid and increasingly profound and comprehensive progress in various fields.

In particular, following the historic official visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China in October 2022 and the third state visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping in December 2023, both sides agreed to further deepen and elevate the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, building a strategically significant Vietnam-China community with a shared future based on the "six more" orientation, opening a new chapter for bilateral relations.

Since the beginning of 2024, bilateral relations have maintained positive momentum, with a strong atmosphere of cooperation spreading to all levels, sectors, and segments of the population. Both sides assess that bilateral relations are at their deepest, most comprehensive, and most substantive level ever. The achievements of cooperation between the two countries are clearly demonstrated in the following three aspects:

First, High-level exchanges and contacts at all levels, from central to local, are maintained regularly through various flexible forms, thereby contributing to strengthening political trust and creating new momentum for all levels and sectors of both sides. Since the beginning of the year, Vietnam has had two key delegations, including the Prime Minister and the Chairman of the National Assembly, visit and work in China. In addition, several members of the Politburo, Secretaries of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and leaders of many ministries, sectors, and localities of Vietnam have visited China. The two sides have also opened up new areas of cooperation and established additional mechanisms for annual high-level exchanges between the National Assembly of Vietnam and the National People's Congress of China.

Recently, the Chinese Communist Party and State expressed their special affection and respect for the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party promptly sent condolences; General Secretary and President Xi Jinping visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing; and a special representative, Politburo Standing Committee member and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Wang Huning, attended the memorial service.

Secondly, Economic, trade, and investment cooperation continues to grow. We are impressed by figures such as the import-export turnover in the first six months of the year alone increasing by 24.1% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching US$94.5 billion; the number of FDI projects in the first half of this year continues to lead with 447 newly approved projects with a total registered capital of nearly US$1.3 billion; tourism is recovering positively (in the first seven months of the year, 2.1 million Chinese tourists visited Vietnam, higher than the whole of 2023). Agricultural cooperation between the two countries has made new progress with both sides basically completing the procedures for the official export of some Vietnamese agricultural products to China such as frozen durian, fresh coconut, fresh chili, passion fruit, etc.; friendly exchanges between the people have been strengthened, and the number of Vietnamese students studying in China has reached over 23,000, double the number before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Third, Overall, the land border situation remains stable; the situation in the East Sea is basically well controlled; and mechanisms for exchange and negotiation between the two sides on maritime issues are regularly maintained. Both sides are looking forward to organizing activities to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Land Border Treaty and the 15th anniversary of the signing of three legal documents on the Vietnam-China land border.

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