VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi on Monday confirmed the completion of procedures for setting up the Chinese consulate general in Da Nang, according to a press release of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry.

This action occurredduring the ninth meeting of the steering committee for bilateral cooperation in Hanoi on June 27, co-chaired by Minh and Yang.

China currently has its embassy in Hanoi and consulate general in HCM City while Vietnam has an embassy in Beijing and five consulate generals in Kunming, Hong Kong - Macau, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, and an Economic – Cultural Office in Taipei, Taiwan, according Chinhphu.vn website.

This was one of the outcomes during talks between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and visiting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi in Hanoi.

Deputy PM Minh and Mr. Yang Jiechi also witnessed the signing of the minutes of the 9th meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation, an MoU between the Vietnamese Coast Guard and the Chinese Coast Guard, and an exchange of public letters on $19.5 million in non-refundable aid for the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace.

At the 9th meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation the two sides used the occasion to discuss maritime issues and emphasize the need to seriously implement agreements and common perceptions reached by the leaders of the two countries, including the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues between Vietnam and China, properly controlling differences, promoting dialogues in a practical fashion, setting up cooperative mechanisms on maritime search and rescue, and continuing discussions and friendly negotiations for fundamental and long-lasting solutions.

Deputy PM Minh and Mr. Yang Jiechi also spoke about other important issues, including self-restraint to avoid complicating and escalating disputes, fully enforcing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DoC), quickly reaching a Code of Conduct (CoC) in the East Sea (COC), and pursuing peaceful solutions in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

Significantly, the two sides agreed to promote friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation in a healthy and stable manner to meet the aspirations and basic benefits of the two countries’ people for regional peace, stability, and development, according to the government’s news portal.

At the meeting the two sides reviewed the cooperation agreed to in the previous meeting in June 2015 and set new orientations for future ties.

Both sides acknowledged the necessity to promote friendly relations and comprehensive ties and realize agreements and common perceptions reached by high-ranking leaders, especially during official visits by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China in April 2015 and that by Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping to Vietnam in November 2015.

The two highly valued the positive developments in bilateral ties, agreed to strengthen political trust, maintain regular exchanges of delegations and contacts, implement the cooperation plan on training personnel of the two communist parties from 2016-2020, enhance cooperation between local Party organizations, and improve people-to-people diplomacy and youth links.

On the basis of the conference to review five years of implementing three legal documents on land border management, the two sides agreed to bolster the management and maintenance of emerging issues in border areas and promote economic cooperation in border areas.

Vietnam and China established diplomatic relations in January 1950. In May 2008, General Secretary Nong Duc Manh met with Chinese President Hu Jintao during his visit to Beijing, raising the level of bilateral relations to comprehensive strategic partnership.

China is now Vietnam’s largest import source and its fourth-largest export market. It has an Embassy in Hanoi and a Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Chinese figures, two-way trade between the two countries reached $95.8 billion in 2015, a year-on-year increase of 14.6 per cent.

VietNamNetVN Economic Times