vietnamnews.vn
November 7, 2015
President Truong Tan Sang holds talks with Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping in Ha Noi yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Khang
HA NOI (VNS)— Viet Nam and China need to intensify the building of political trust, boost co-operation, and actively seek appropriate solutions to existing differences, stated President Truong Tan Sang during talks with Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping in Ha Noi yesterday.
He said that in recent years, the trust in relations between the two Parties and countries has been eroded in the heart of a group of Party members and people due to the sea issue and the incomplete implementation of several co-operation agreements.
It was a fact that the two countries had differences in opinion when it came to the East Sea issue, Sang said. However, the most important things to do were to respect each other’s legitimate interests, control the situation, implement agreements and common perceptions already reached by the two countries’ Party and State leaders, and address disputes properly through negotiations.
He suggested the two countries avoid any actions that complicate and expand disputes or target militarisation in the East Sea, while ensuring aviation and navigation safety, and normal fishing activities for fishermen. They also need to work together to build and maintain a peaceful, stable environment to serve the development goals of both countries and the region.
The nations could carry out co-operation projects and programmes at sea in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) while carrying out the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and working toward the early formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), he added.
The Vietnamese State leader expressed his delight at the outcomes of the talks between General Secretary and President Xi and Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on Thursday, confirming that the Vietnamese Party, State and people were willing to do their utmost to, together with the Chinese Party, State and people, strengthen and consolidate the bilateral comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership for the interests of the two countries, and for peace, stability and co-operation in the region and the world.
In the context of complicated international situations, the two countries needed to uphold traditions of mutual support, while enhancing friendly co-operation, he added.
National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung meets with Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping. — VNA/VNS Photo Nhan Sang
President Truong Tan Sang also suggested both sides foster collaboration in all fields, effectively carry out agreements on economics, trade and investment to boost the bilateral economic and trade ties on the basis of mutual benefit and mutual respect for legitimate interests.
Viet Nam and China should look for efficient ways to equal out their trade balance, while increasing investments in major projects using China’s advanced science and technology in Viet Nam .
People-to-people exchanges, especially between youths, intellectuals and border residents, had been promoted, he said. However, communications on this work remained weak.
For his part, Xi affirmed his Party, State and people always treasured their traditional friendship and neighbourliness with Viet Nam.
The two Parties and States were currently building socialism under the leadership of the Communist Party, and needed to maintain a peaceful and stable environment to develop the nation, which are basic similarities that could help foster bilateral relations, he said.
Therefore, the healthy and stable development of China-Viet Nam relations and enhanced co-operation between the two Parties, States and peoples were significant to the growth of each country in accordance with the aspirations of their people, he stressed.
As the China-Viet Nam relationship was facing new development opportunities, both nations should further consolidate their time-honoured friendship, maintain high-level meetings and visits, boost the “one belt, one road” and “two corridors, one belt” strategic connectivity, promote people-to-people exchanges, properly handle disputes, and respect each other to develop the comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership in a stable, healthy, sustainable manner.
Regarding the sea issue, the top Chinese leader said that both sides should exert efforts to control disputes through consultations, in order to maintain peace and stability at sea.
He expressed his belief that common perceptions reached during the visit would open up a brighter future, creating a firm foundation for friendship and co-operation between the two Parties, States and peoples.
Meeting with NA leader
Viet Nam’s Party, State and National Assembly (NA) always attached importance to maintaining and promoting friendship and solidarity with China, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung told Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping during their meeting in Ha Noi on the same day.
The top legislator said the Vietnamese NA would do its utmost to help their bilateral friendship and connection to thrive.
In the context of increasingly complicated situations in the region and the world, the two countries should step up win-win co-operation and settle their differences in a satisfactory manner, together building a peaceful and stable climate for co-operation and development, Hung said.
He said the two sides should maintain regular visits and meetings between high-ranking leaders in order to roll out measures to boost collaboration, address existing and arising issues and reinforce relations between the two Parties and States.
He urged the two countries’ legislative bodies and their specialised agencies and friendship parliamentarian groups to promote links and experience sharing, especially in improving the quality and efficiency of parliamentary activities.
The two countries’ leaders should pay more attention to friendship exchanges in a bid to raise public awareness of consolidating and fostering the traditional friendship between the two peoples, he noted.
Highlighting the remarkable outcome of Viet Nam-China co-operation in recent times, the Vietnamese NA leader called for greater efforts to boost practical cooperation, especially in economy and trade, thus bringing happiness to both countries’ peoples and creating a solid foundation for bilateral ties to develop. Leaders should attach importance to the satisfactory settlement of issues at sea in the principle of respecting each others legitimate interests, abiding by international law and bringing long-term benefits to both countries.
For his part, the Chinese leader said that his Party and State would always treasure and back co-operation between China’s National People’s Congress and the Vietnamese National Assembly, as well as friendship exchanges between the two peoples, saying that these were important elements of the China-Viet Nam comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership.
The two sides needed to increase all-level delegation exchanges, information and experience sharing, as well as co-ordination and mutual support in regional and global inter-parliamentary forums, thus enhancing mutual understanding, trust and solidarity, he said.
Xi said he would welcome NA Chairman Hung’s future visit to China.
Addressing NA
Xi later addressed the 10th session of the 13th National Assembly in Ha Noi, highlighting the need to maintain the countries’ time-honoured friendship.
Chinese and Vietnamese people walked hand-in-hand during their countries’ past struggles for national independence and liberation, while helping each other in their current socialist construction endeavours, he said.
Their ties had gone beyond a normal bilateral relationship and become a strategic relationship with significant importance, Xi said.
Expressing delight at the achievements Viet Nam had gained during its reform process, he said he believed that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, the Vietnamese people would reap great success in the future.
He pledged that his country would join Viet Nam’s efforts to maintain the bilateral friendship, learn from each other and work for the progress of socialism and the happiness of both peoples.
The Chinese leader said the CPC was promoting socialism with Chinese characteristics and striving for a comprehensive prosperous society and a modernised socialist country with prosperity, democracy, civilisation and harmony.
The CPC Central Committee recently convened its fifth session to build a socio-economic development plan for the next five years, aiming to improve people’s living conditions and contribute to peace and progress, Xi noted.
During CPV General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to China last April, the two sides agreed that the bilateral friendship, formed by President Mao Zedong and President Ho Chi Minh as well as other former leaders of both countries was a precious treasure that needed to be maintained, he said.
He held that China and Viet Nam shared a wide range of common interests, with co-operation a major trend. Both sides needed to respect each other while settling disputes through friendly talks.
Regarding rapid developments in the region and the world that have brought about new challenges to both countries, Xi said Viet Nam and China shared common interests and development goals.
China paid great attention to developing ties with Viet Nam and was willing to work to maintain a friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive co-operation with long-term stability in the spirit of “good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good partners”, thus promoting the stable and healthy development of the bilateral comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership and bringing greater benefits to both peoples, Xi said.
China resolutely supported Viet Nam’s cause of “doi moi” (renewal) and sincerely hoped the country would continue to make more significant achievements in its socialist building, he said, adding that the two sides would continue to support each other and make active contributions to socialist development.
He said his country shared experience with Viet Nam in national building and management, as well as developing a theoretical and practical basis for socialist construction.
China backed Viet Nam to promote its increasing role in the regional and international arenas, while enhancing co-operation with the Southeast Asian nation in regional and global mechanisms for mutual benefit and development.
The Chinese leader stated that his country attached great importance to the two countries’ co-operation strategies within the “two corridors and one economic belt” framework, along with embracing infrastructure connectivity and collaboration in investment and bettering production capacity to elevate the bilateral comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership to a new height.
He urged the two sides to concentrate on overall bilateral relations via friendly and peaceful negotiations to curb any disagreements in a satisfactory manner.
The Chinese Party chief and President expressed his belief that under the sound leadership of the two Parties and States, the two countries’ people would be able to remove any obstacles and continue to write a new page in the Viet Nam-China friendly, neighbourly co-operation.
Noting with pleasure that the number of tourist between the two sides surpasses 3 million per year and currently nearly 14,000 Vietnamese students are pursuing their education in China, he proposed Viet Nam and China work together on culture, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges in order to increase mutual understanding and tighten their amity.
Xi said he hoped the two countries would join hands to develop their comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and around the globe.
On behalf of the National Assembly of Viet Nam, Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung thanked the Chinese leader for his speech on bilateral traditional friendship, Vietnamese land, people and achievements in the reform period initiated by the Communist Party of Viet Nam.
He wished the Chinese people good luck in the successful implementation of national construction targets under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.
In celebration of the 65th anniversary of Viet Nam-China diplomatic ties this year, the two countries were glad to realise that despite their ups and downs, their relations had been growing according to the spirit of late Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong – peace, friendship and co-operation, he noted.
The countries would continue to control disagreements and overcome obstacles for the healthy, practical and steady development of bilateral relations for the sake of the two peoples as well as peace and prosperity in the region and the world, he said.
He added that the Vietnamese people always remembered the valuable assistance from the Chinese Party, Government and people during their past resistance wars and in the current national construction and defence efforts.
The two nations’ solidarity, brotherhood and co-operation not only significantly contributed to the respective revolutionary causes and national construction, but also to social progress, peace and independence.
The National Assembly of Viet Nam would spare no efforts to work with the National People’s Congress of China to reinforce and propel the bilateral friendship forward, Hung stressed.
Party leader meeting
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Chinese Party General Secretary and State President Xi Jinping met with about 400 Vietnamese and Chinese youngsters attending the 16th Viet Nam-China Youth Friendship Meeting in Ha Noi yesterday.
Addressing the event, Trong emphasised the significance of the meeting as the two countries are celebrating their 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
The Vietnamese Party chief stressed the remarkable contributions of the young generations of both countries to the 65-year-ties of Viet Nam and China . Mutual support and solidarity of the youth had fostered the traditional friendship of both peoples, he said.
He expressed his hope that the young generations of the two countries deeply understand the ties, treasuring and promoting the value of the Viet Nam-China friendly neighbourliness to pass on from generation to generation.
The youth, the future owner of each country, should be the spearhead and play the core role in realising the desire of each nation amid great challenges and tough missions ahead, said the Party leader.
He asked the youth to strengthen exchanges as well as close, effective and practical coordination, reinforcing the solidarity and friendship between Viet Nam and China .
Meanwhile, Xi also reviewed the history of the Viet Nam-China ties, with close relationships among the former leaders of both sides.
President Ho Chi Minh, who built the China-Viet Nam friendship, spent 12 years of his revolutionary career in China, becoming a close companion and comrade of President Mao Zedong and an intimate friend of Chinese people, he reiterated.
The Chinese leader underscored that the two peoples should always bear in their mind the history, mutual support and traditional friendship between the two countries, thus making the Viet Nam-China brotherhood evergreen.
Together with recent visits to China by Party General Secretary Trong and President Truong Tan Sang, his Viet Nam visit was part of the exchange programme between the two Parties and States, he noted.
Bilateral economic and trade co-operation had seen considerable achievements, he said, noting that China had been the largest trade partner of Viet Nam for 11 consecutive years, while the Southeast Asian country was the second largest partner of China among ASEAN members.
Two-way trade was likely to reach US$100 billion earlier than expected, he said, holding that the win-win co-operation between the two countries was a major trend and would benefit both peoples.
Xi also expressed his wish that the young generation of both countries would act as the heirs of the China-Viet Nam friendship, optimising their brainpower and creativity for the everlasting relationship of the two nations.
Also on November 6, Xi laid a wreath and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at the late leader’s mausoleum in Ha Noi.
On the same day, Viet Nam and China issued a joint statement. The full statement can be read at vietnamnews.vn. — VNS
