Vietnam always values and gives top priority to the friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China, said visiting Vietnamese Party General Secretary and President To Lam told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during their top-level talks in Beijing on August 19.

To Lam, who is in Beijing for a three-day state visit to China, introduced Vietnam’s foreign policy and said the country will work closely with China to successfully build a joint community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

He vowed to join Xi and other senior Chinese leaders in cultivating the long-standing tradition of friendship between the two Parties and countries into a new phase of increasingly stable and long-term sustainable development.

Xi for his part affirmed that Vietnam is considered a priority direction and strategic choice in China’s neighbourhood diplomacy.

He welcomed To Lam’s first overseas visit after taking office as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, which he said demonstrates the high regard and top priority of the two Parties and countries for Vietnam - China relations. He also voiced China’s support for the perseverance of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s leadership for the cause of building socialism.

The Chinese leader again extended his condolences to the Party, State and people of Vietnam over the recent passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, lauding the late leader’s practical contributions to Vietnam’s revolutionary cause and China-Vietnam relations, as well as the development of socialism in the world.

He expressed his belief that the Party and State of Vietnam will continue to inherit the legacy of the late Party leader and record new, greater achievements in reform and building socialism.

Both host and guest briefed each other on the situation in their respective countries, and agreed that bilateral relations have been developing positively in recent times in line with the six major outlined orientations, including higher political trust, more substantive defense and security cooperation, deeper substantive cooperation, stronger social foundation, closer multilateral coordination, and better control and resolution of disagreements.

They reached a high consensus on strengthening political trust and maintaining regular exchanges and contacts between senior leaders of the two Parties and two countries, emphasizing the importance of the strategic orientation role of the Party channel for the overall bilateral relations of the two countries.

They agreed to continue to deepen theoretical cooperation, through mechanisms such as the theoretical workshop between the two Parties, to promptly share the latest theoretical and practical achievements of each party, making practical contributions to their development.

The two sides stressed the need to further increase bilateral cooperation in fields such as security - defense, economics, trade and investment, cross-border infrastructure connections, including road and railway routes, alongside strengthening supply chain cooperation, economic cooperation between border provinces, and exchanges between their State-owned enterprises.

To Lam proposed that the two sides enhance cooperation in building large, highly symbolic projects, commensurate with political trust and demonstrating China’s advanced level of science – technology development.

He expected that China would assist Vietnam with preferential loans, technology transfer, human resource training, and quality investment in the country’s key transport infrastructure projects, while increasing its investment into fields where it has many advantages such as green economy and digital economy.

Meanwhile, Xi affirmed that China stays ready to increase the import of Vietnamese agricultural products and expand Vietnamese trade promotion offices in China.

China will create favourable conditions for high-quality Vietnamese agricultural products to access its market, he told his guest.

As the two countries will celebrate 75 years of their diplomacy in 2025, the two leaders agreed on the necessity of further strengthening people-to-people exchanges to promote understanding and friendship between their peoples, especially the younger generation. They agreed to declare 2025 the year of humanistic exchange between Vietnam and China.

Exchanging views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, both host and guest stressed the need for the two countries to further boost close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums and international mechanisms, meeting the legitimate interests of the two countries and actively contributing to the common interests of the international community.

Sincerely and frankly discussing maritime issues, the two leaders consented to well implement the high-level common perceptions reached, and make efforts to better control and resolve disagreements.

To Lam proposed that the two sides need to respect each other’s legitimate interests, resolve disagreements by peaceful means, and comply with the United Nations Charter and international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), while seriously and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and promoting negotiations of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in accordance with international law and UNCLOS 1982.

To Lam on this occasion invited Xi Jinping to visit Vietnam again, and the invitation was accepted with pleasure.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents in fields such as Party affairs, import and export of agricultural products, radio and television broadcasting, health care, infrastructure, economics, trade, industry, and banking, between the ministries, agencies, and localities of Vietnam and China.

Later, Xi Jinping respectfully invited To Lam to a tea party during which they reviewed the tradition of friendship between the two Parties and two countries, talked about the results of the talks, and emphasized the importance of further developing Vietnam – China relations to new heights.

VOV