Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

China values the upcoming visit by President Truong Tan Sang, which
has an important significance to common perception in the China-Vietnam
comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, Chinese Ambassador to
Vietnam Kong Xuanyou has said.

In an interview
granted to the Vietnamese press on the threshold of President Sang’s
State level visit to China from June 19-21, the Chinese Ambassador
noted that this is President Sang’s first visit to China, and also the
first meeting between State leaders of the two countries after China
elected a new leadership.

He noted that the
relations between Vietnam and China have made great strides, and
besides important opportunities there are issues pending settlement.

“We hope and believe that the two sides will stand on
the general view of the China-Vietnam relationship and the overall
prospects of the development cause of each country, the visit by
President Truong Tan Sang will contribute to promoting bilateral
relations, and at the same time reach agreement on the reinforcement of
mutual political trust, effective cooperation and satisfactory
settlement of existing differences, thus lifting the bilateral ties to a
new height,” said the ambassador.

Assessing the
current China-Vietnam relations, the ambassador said this year, with
joint efforts made by both sides, the China-Vietnam comprehensive
strategic cooperative partnership continues to see new developments with
the more regular exchange of visits by high-ranking leaders.

The two countries’ leaders have exchanged views and reached important
common perceptions on reinforcing mutual trust, boosting cooperation and
settling differences, significantly contributing to strengthening the
China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Secondly, the two sides have intensified existing mechanisms of
exchange. The two countries will organise the 9th theoretical
conference to boost the exchange of State management experience, he
said, adding that China will continue assisting Vietnam in
training Party officials.

Cooperative mechanisms
between the two countries’ diplomatic, defence and public security
sectors continue to work effectively, with the recent successful
organisation of the 7th strategic dialogue on defence.

Cooperation and exchanges between the Chinese and Vietnamese
localities, especially those sharing the border, have been further
deepened, he said.

Thirdly, economic-trade
cooperation between the two countries has been expanding, with China
being Vietnam ’s leading trade partner for nine consecutive years.
Two-way trade hit 40 billion USD last year and the figure reached 18.9
billion USD in the first five months of this year, up 37.3 percent year
on year.

The two countries are making all-out efforts to realise their bilateral trade target of 60 billion USD by 2015.

Fourthly, exchanges between the two countries’ people have been
boosted with a range of activities such as people’s forums and border
youth festivals.

In addition, China is the most
important tourist market of Vietnam with millions of Chinese visiting
Vietnam each year.

China provides Vietnam
with 150 Government scholarships per year. In 2012, more than 16,000
Vietnamese students pursued their study in China , the fourth largest
number among countries sending students to China .

Fifthly, Ambassador Kong Xuan-you noted that the two sides have made
efforts to maintain stability at sea, accelerate negotiations on
demarcation and joint exploitation of the area off the Tonkin Gulf mouth
as well as cooperation in less sensitive issues at sea. They have
successively established suitable working mechanisms in the two
countries and agreed on priority projects for cooperation such as
coordination in search and rescue at sea.

Regarding
the potential and prospects for the development of the Vietnam-China
relationship, Ambassador Kong Xuan-you stressed that regardless of any
fluctuation in the international situation, China will consistently
pursue its path of peaceful development and a foreign policy of being
friendly with neighbours and a partner of neighbours.

He affirmed that his country will develop the China-Vietnam
relationship under the motto of “friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive
cooperation, long-term stability and looking toward the future” and the
spirit of “good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good
partners” with a strategic and long-term vision on the comprehensive
strategic cooperative partnership between the two nations.

“China will continue to cooperate with Vietnam, enhancing mutual
political trust, fostering mutually-beneficiary cooperation,
satisfactorily settling existing disputes and raising the friendly
neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries
to a new level, thus bringing practical benefits to both peoples,” he
said.

According to the ambassador, the new
leadership of China attaches special importance to relations between
the two Parties and States of China and Vietnam .

He said the two countries should increase exchanges, expand
cooperation, deepen people-to-people cultural exchanges, satisfactorily
settle maritime issues and closely coordinate with each other at
multilateral forums, he noted.

Regarding the
maritime issue, Kong said this is the only issue yet to be resolved
between the two countries, certainly hindering the development of the
bilateral ties.

The two countries need time to
thoroughly address this extremely complicated and sensitive issue, he
stressed, adding that for a satisfactory and step-be-step settlement of
the issue, high-ranking leaders of the two countries have reached
important common perceptions. The two sides have signed an agreement on
basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-based issue which
stresses that Vietnam and China must solve the issue based on
their friendship and through negotiations and consultations, not letting
their differences affect the favourable development of the bilateral
ties.

Guided by the common perception of the
two countries’ leaders, the two sides have established governmental- and
expert-level border negotiation mechanisms, he added.

Kong went on to say that as China and Vietnam are neighbouring
socialist countries which are both in the key stage of their reform and
development, the consolidation of the bilateral relationship and the
strengthening of their mutually beneficiary cooperation suits the basic
interests of both countries and peoples, benefits the protection and
development of the cause of socialism as well as peace, stability and
prosperity in the region.

That is the general
situation of the two countries’ relationship, he affirmed, adding that
if the two sides stand on this general situation, strictly implement and
obey the related common perceptions of the high-ranking leaders and the
agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-based
issue, effectively control differences, actively seek cooperation and
practically maintain stability, the maritime issue will surely be
resolved in a satisfactory manner.

The Chinese
Ambassador also affirmed that the new government of China gives
priority to ASEAN in its external policy and backs the strong
development of ASEAN countries, including Vietnam .

On the occasion of President Sang’s visit, Vietnamese Ambassador to
China Nguyen Van Tho also granted an interview to Vietnamese and Chinese
press on the significance of the visit and the Vietnam-China
relationship.

He said the visit takes place in the
context that the world and the region see rapid and complicated
developments and both Vietnam and China are in the key stage of
their renewal and reform.

Even when the world and
regional situation has undergone many changes and the relations between
the two countries also went through ups and downs, the leaders and
people of Vietnam and China never change their common perception that
the stable development of the bilateral ties is very important for not
only the development of each country but also for peace, stability and
prosperity in the region, the ambassador affirmed.

Since the two countries normalised their relations in 1991, cooperation
and friendship have been the main stream in the bilateral ties despite
some differences, he said.

Over the past years, the
Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has been
continuously consolidated and developed with the more regularly exchange
of delegations at all levels, and the recent establishment of a hotline
between their high-ranking leaders, he said, adding that during their
first call via the hotline, Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen
Phu Trong and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed on major
orientations for future bilateral relations.

The
ambassador also highlighted the great strides in economic-trade and
investment cooperation between the two countries, the expanding and
deepening cooperation in the national defence and security sectors as
well as the close ties in cultural, education, tourism and
people-to-people exchange.

He noted that the two
countries have to date settled two out of three major issues bequeathed
by history, which are the land border and the Tonkin Gulf . This
reflected great efforts made by the two countries’ leaders and people.

He said the only issue in the bilateral ties is the
East Sea, which is a great and difficult long-term issue that
needs a clear and consistent stance.

If this
problem is not solved satisfactorily, it will affect the overall
situation of the two countries’ relationship as well as regional peace
and stability, he noted.

The ambassador recalled
that the two countries have reached the agreement on basic principles
guiding the settlement of sea-based issue on the basis of friendly
negotiations and frank and equal discussions with respect for each
other’s interests and international law, especially the 1982 UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the Declaration on the
Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards the formation of a Code
of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

The two sides
have conducted a number of negotiation rounds of the working group on
the area beyond the mouth of the Tonkin Gulf to speed up the
delimitation and consider cooperation for mutual development in this
area. They have also reached agreement on three cooperation projects in
less sensitive fields at sea.

In addition, ensuring
Vietnamese fishermen’s freedom to fish at traditional grounds in the
East Sea is very important as it has a great impact on the life and
sentiments of Vietnamese people.

According to
Ambassador Tho, during President Sang’s visit, the two sides will
continue straightforward and sincere discussions on the East Sea
issue.

The Vietnamese side wishes that from the
strategic height and friendship, the two countries’ leaders will
instruct and accelerate the settlement of the East Sea issue through
peaceful negotiations on the basis of equality and mutual respect on the
basis of international law, particularly the UNCLOS 1982, and the
strict compliance with the DOC towards the formation of the COC, said
the ambassador.

The two sides will also discuss
measures to deal with issues arising from fishing activities and
fishermen, not letting it affect the friendship as well as the life and
sentiments of the people.

They will talk measures to
further strengthen political trust and uphold the traditional
friendship between the two countries’ people, especially young
generations, as well as consolidate and expand mutually beneficiary
cooperation in all aspects.

At the same time, in
order to create a breakthrough in economic-trade and investment
cooperation between the two countries in the coming time, Ambassador Tho
emphasised the need to fully promote the role of their existing
cooperative mechanisms, especially the Steering Committee on Bilateral
Cooperation, in making plans for and effectively managing economic
cooperation activities.

The two sides should timely
and effectively handle emerging issues such as ensuring orderly and
stable border trade, labour, food safety and hygiene, and plant and
animal quarantine, he said, adding that Vietnam’s trade deficit with
China should also be dealt with.

Vietnam
encourages Chinese businesses to increase investment in infrastructure,
manufacturing and support industries, firstly at industrial and export
processing zones jointly invested by the two countries, said the
ambassador.-VNA

By vivian