China visit pivots upon shared goal

Party General Secretary Trong discussed co-operative deals on China visit last week

During his China visit on January 12-15, Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong engaged in bilateral talks with China’s Party General Secretary and State President Xi Jinping.

The two leaders witnessed the inking of 15 co-operation deals (see box).

Both sides reached consensus on the importance of forging stronger co-operation in economics, trade, and investment. They will also urge ministries, localities, and businesses to concentrate on effectively deploying agreed-upon plans.

Jinping agreed to facilitate the opening of Vietnamese commercial representative offices in Chinese localities. He also pledged to encourage the import of Vietnamese agro-forestry-fishery products like rice, cassava, dairy products, and processed fruits, and support high-tech and environmentally friendly investment projects in Vietnam.

Both sides agreed to amplify co-operation in the fields of science and technology, agriculture, environmental issues, and climate change response.

They also agreed to discuss principles and specific contents of a master plan on the construction of Vietnam-China cross-border economic co-operation zones, so that a relevant agreement can be signed soon.

Vietnam and China will also strengthen partnerships in production capacity and connection between the “Two corridors, One economic belt” and “One belt, One road” initiatives to match the demand, benefit, and development strategy of each country.

The two leaders also mentioned the East Sea during their talks. General Secretary Trong affirmed Vietnam’s consistent stance of persistently dealing with the dispute in the East Sea by peaceful measures in compliance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with respect to diplomatic and legal processes; fully and efficiently executing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and working with ASEAN to construct the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Both sides stressed the need to comply with the important conception reached by the two countries’ Party and State leaders and the Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea issues between Vietnam and China; optimise the negotiating mechanism to seek fundamental and long-lasting solutions acceptable to both sides; and actively study transitional solutions that do not negatively affect the respective country’s stance and policy, including actively seeking and discussing issues of co-operation for mutual development.

The countries affirmed that the two sides will continue implementing the DOC comprehensively and efficiently, and soon formulate a COC on the basis of consultation and unanimity; efficiently manage sea-related disagreements; and take no actions that complicate peace and stability in the East Sea.

15 co-operation agreements inked:

- An agreement on training senior officials between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Communist Party of China

- A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on co-operation between the CPV Central Committee’s Economic Commission and the State Council of China’s Development Research Centre

- A document on technical assistance in planning for the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong railway

- A joint vision statement on defence co-operation between the two defence ministries through 2025

- A framework agreement on land border co-operation between Vietnam’s Defence Ministry and the China General Administration of Customs

- Three documents on co-operation in public health, technical trade barriers, and the release of aquatic varieties in the Gulf of Tonkin

- A tourism co-operation plan for the 2017-2019 period

- A co-operation document between Vietnam’s National Politics – Truth Publishing House and the People’s Publishing House of China for 2017-2021

- A co-operation agreement between the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

- A co-operation agreement between the Vietnam Red Cross Association and China Red Cross

- Two MoUs on television and radio programmes

- An MoU on project sponsorship and middle- and long-term loans for the 2017-2019 period between the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam(BIDV) and the China Development Bank

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