The affirmation was made by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during his talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Nanning city, Guangxi province of China, on September 16 on the occasion of attending the 20th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS).

During the talks, the two government leaders expressed their satisfaction and praised the progress in Vietnam-China relations in recent years, particularly since the historic visit to China last year by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

The Vietnamese cabinet leader conveyed greetings from Party leader Trong, State President Vo Van Thuong, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Zhao Leji, and Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Wang Huning.

Premier Li also extended regards from Chinese high-ranking leaders and others to their Vietnamese counterparts, and emphasized that China always prioritizes its relationship with Vietnam within the framework of its neighborhood policy.

China fully supports Vietnam in building and developing its socialist-oriented market economy and is committed to expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation. China highly values Vietnam’s active and effective participation in the CAEXPO and CABIS events.

Both sides agreed to effectively implement the common understandings reached by their Party leaders, further strengthening and deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China. They also pledged to enhance economic, trade, investment, and people-to-people exchanges, coordinate in multilateral mechanisms and forums, manage land borders effectively, and ensure peace and stability at sea.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister emphasized the importance of Vietnam-China relations in the overall foreign policy of both countries, and highlighted the need for leveraging geographical advantages and complementary areas of cooperation in balanced and sustainable development.

He proposed that China accelerate market opening for Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products, facilitate the establishment of Vietnam’s trade promotion offices in Chengdu (Sichuan) and Haikou (Hainan), and improve customs efficiency to avoid congestion at border crossings.

PM Chinh reiterated Vietnam’s readiness to provide favorable conditions for Chinese companies to do business in Vietnam, particularly in large-scale, high-quality, and modern technology projects. He emphasized the importance of enhancing transportation and border infrastructure connectivity, studying joint work in planning and building railway lines in northern Vietnam, and improving bilateral and multi-country cargo transportation capacity.

The Prime Minister called for efforts to strengthen tourism cooperation, resolve any existing issues in projects, accelerate the implementation of non-refundable aids from China to Vietnam, and jointly build stable supply and production chains.

Prime Minister Li stated that China will continue to open its market for Vietnamese goods, especially quality agricultural and aquatic products. Efforts will be made to improve trade efficiency through upgrading border infrastructure, policy connectivity, and the use of the Chinese yuan for transactions between the two countries.

The two leaders emphasized the importance of managing differences properly and maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea (South China Sea). Prime Minister Chinh called for adherence to the high-level common perceptions and agreement on the settlement of maritime issues between Vietnam and China, and resolving disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS 1982.

They also pledged to cooperate closely at global and regional forums.

Additionally, Premier Li expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in the recent fire disaster in Hanoi on September 12.