Foreign ministers talk measures for strengthening Vietnam - China ties

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi held talks in Hanoi on September 11, discussing ways to promote the countries’ comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

The two sides applauded the recent strides in the Vietnam - China relations, stressing that the frequent meetings in flexible forms between senior leaders of the countries’ Parties and States since the beginning of 2021 have mapped out major orientations for bilateral cooperation and created an important driving force for exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

They agreed that amid the complex and considerably changing international situation, Vietnam and China’s enhancement of political trust and comprehensive cooperation matches the fundamental and long-term interests of both the peoples.

In the time ahead, the two foreign ministries will keep working closely to advise the countries’ leaders in increasing contact; stepping up friendship exchanges and all-round cooperation at all levels between sectors, localities, and peoples; tightening links in economy, trade, and the areas for which both sides hold potential, especially in infrastructure building and transport projects connecting the two countries; and bolstering the exchange of opinions about and mutual support in multilateral issues and at multilateral organisations.

The officials discussed specific measures to enhance bilateral coordination in COVID-19 prevention and control and maintenance of trading and economic activities.

FM Son thanked the Chinese Government for providing Vietnam with an additional 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. He expressed his hope that the two countries will keep strengthening ties in the COVID-19 combat, particularly in terms of vaccine.

The host asked China to provide favourable customs clearance procedures for Vietnamese goods, especially farm produce, at border gates and permit more fruits from Vietnam to be exported via official channels to China, thus helping to balance bilateral trade and sustain their supply and production chains.

He also called for coordination to speed up joint projects such as the Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway project in Hanoi and some others on social welfare funded by China.

At the talks, the two sides gave open and straightforward opinions about border and territorial issues. They suggested detailed measures for land border management on the basis of reached agreements and legal documents on border, especially keeping close coordination among the mechanisms of the Land Border Joint Committee and localities so as to share information and handle emerging issues  in a timely manner.

The ministers agreed to continue seriously complying with the common perceptions reached between senior Vietnamese and Chinese leaders, controlling sea-related disputes well, jointly maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, and together with ASEAN countries stepping up negotiations to soon attain an efficient, effective, and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea that is in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Minister Son emphasised the need to respect the rights and legitimate interests of coastal countries in conformity with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

The two officials also highly valued the increasingly fruitful cooperation between the two foreign ministries, agreeing to intensify the collaboration between the ministries’ agencies./.