Close connection, extensive cooperation in culture and tourism between Vietnam and China

NDO - Within the framework of attending the 8th Greater Mekong Subregion Summit and working in China, on the afternoon of November 8, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the program introducing Vietnamese culture and tourism in Chongqing city.

Following the success of the Vietnam Culture and Tourism Festival on November 5 in Kunming, Yunnan Province, the program to introduce Vietnamese culture and tourism in Chongqing is part of a series of activities of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam towards the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations and the Vietnam-China Cultural Exchange Year 2025.

At the program, agencies and businesses of both sides exchanged measures to promote cooperation in developing culture and tourism, promote people-to-people exchanges, contribute to building a solid social foundation for the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and build a Vietnam-China Community of Shared Future of strategic significance.

The Prime Minister and Chongqing city leaders visited an exhibition introducing some images of Vietnam in the program introducing Vietnamese culture and tourism in Chongqing city. (Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac)

According to opinions at the program, Vietnam-China relations are at their best and most favorable stage of development ever. Political trust, a good foundation of cultural cooperation with unique and typical values ​​from both sides… have created a strong momentum for tourism, investment, trade and people-to-people exchange in recent times.

Vietnam and China share a common border by land, air and sea, which is very convenient for tourism cooperation and exchange of visitors between the two countries. Vietnam and China are beautiful countries with four seasons, rich in cultural and historical traditions, majestic nature, gentle, warm and hospitable people, rich and unique tourism products that always complement and support each other and are attractive destinations for international tourists.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends a program introducing Vietnamese culture and tourism in Chongqing city. (Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac)

Vietnam has 8 UNESCO-recognized world heritages, including 5 cultural heritages, 2 natural heritages and 1 mixed world heritage. Meanwhile, China, with its long history and culture, similar customs and practices, and diverse landscapes, also has a special attraction for Vietnamese tourists. Chongqing in particular is the regional transportation hub, with advanced and modern infrastructure, convenient for its role as a gateway for tourists from southwestern China to Vietnam and vice versa.

Over the past time, cultural and tourism cooperation has been developing positively, increasingly in-depth and sustainably, becoming an important foundation for trade and investment activities and a bright spot in the relationship between the two countries.

A performance of the Program. (Photo: Nhat Bac/VGP)

Currently, there are an average of 330 flights per week between Vietnam and China; tourism routes between Vietnam and China are increasingly vibrant, products are constantly being added with a variety of destinations, affordable prices, meeting many market segments.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, China was always the largest source market for tourists, accounting for about 30% of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam. In 2019, Vietnam welcomed more than 5.8 million Chinese tourists; in 2023, it welcomed 1.75 million Chinese tourists; and in just the first 9 months of 2024, it welcomed 2.7 million Chinese tourists. Vietnam is also among the 5 foreign markets sending the most visitors to China, with 7.9 million visitors.

Despite many achievements, tourism cooperation and tourist exchange between Vietnam and China are still not commensurate with the level of relations and great cooperation potential between the two countries. In the coming time, the management agencies and cultural and tourism enterprises of the two countries will continue to coordinate well to implement the Vietnam-China Cultural and Tourism Cooperation Plan for the period 2023-2027; exchange policies and experiences in tourism development; exploit tourism routes, build tourism products; encourage airlines to increase flights between Vietnam and China according to market demand...

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the program. (Photo: Nhat Bac/VGP)

Speaking at the program, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his pleasure to visit Chongqing, a beautiful city on the Yangtze River, with majestic nature, beautiful landscapes, unique culture, unique cuisine, kind people, a young city but developing dynamically, comprehensively and rapidly. This is a very suitable location to organize the program to introduce Vietnamese culture and tourism.

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the organization of Vietnamese cultural and tourism programs and festivals in China, which not only meet the cultural and tourism needs of the people of the two countries, but also contribute to strengthening the friendship of "both comrades and brothers" between the two countries, which has practical significance, especially in the context of the two countries preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (January 18, 1950 - January 18, 2025).

The Prime Minister pointed out that China is a neighboring country with a common border, "mountains connected to mountains, rivers connected to rivers", a traditional socialist friend and has close relations with Vietnam. Over the past 75 years, the friendship "both comrades and brothers" that generations of leaders of the two countries have worked hard to cultivate has become a valuable common asset of the two Parties, two countries and two peoples.

Vietnam always attaches importance to consolidating and developing friendly and cooperative relations with China, considering this a consistent policy, an objective requirement, a strategic choice and a top priority in its foreign policy. Vietnam remembers the great assistance of the Party, State and People of China in the cause of national liberation and development. 65 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh wrote: “Congratulate China, thank China, learn from China” and this remains valid today.

The Prime Minister said that cultural and tourism cooperation between the two countries is of great significance in contributing to elevating the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and building a Vietnam-China community of shared future with the strategic meaning of "6 more". In particular, with the third content of "deeper substantive cooperation", cultural and tourism cooperation is a highlight in the bilateral relationship in recent times.

Emphasizing the importance of culture, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reiterated the major viewpoints in developing Vietnamese culture: Culture is the spiritual foundation of society, the endogenous strength of the country; culture lights the way for the nation; culture is national, scientific, and popular; if culture exists, the nation exists.

On the other hand, Vietnam and China both have rich cultural and historical traditions; there are many similarities in cultural development on the path to building socialism. Tourism development is also closely linked to cultural development; these two fields are linked, supplemented, supported, and enhanced each other, creating conditions, motivation, and inspiration for each other to develop together.

Informing that Vietnam is building a national target program on cultural development, the Prime Minister suggested that the two sides continue to promote cooperation, connect more deeply, closely and effectively in culture and tourism, build appropriate incentive mechanisms and policies, share experiences, build cultural and tourism infrastructure, connect businesses, and contribute to concretizing the new contents of the Vietnam-China relationship that the leaders of the two Parties and two countries have agreed upon.

For its part, Vietnam is promoting three strategic breakthroughs in institutional improvement, infrastructure construction and human resource training, with the orientation of “open institutions, transparent infrastructure, smart governance”. The Prime Minister affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will promote its role as a creator, creating favorable conditions for cultural and tourism enterprises to develop in the spirit of “harmonized benefits, shared risks”, harmonizing the interests between the State, enterprises and people, “listening and understanding together, sharing vision and action together, working together, winning together, enjoying together, developing together, sharing joy, happiness and pride”.

Believing that in the coming time, China will remain Vietnam's largest tourism market, the Prime Minister called on cultural and tourism enterprises to promote cooperation, connect the two countries in culture and tourism, and implement specific and practical cooperation programs and projects to contribute to promoting cultural and tourism cooperation between Vietnam and China to develop further in the spirit of the 20 words "close connection; harmonious coordination; extensive cooperation; inclusive, comprehensive; effective and appropriate".

The Prime Minister suggested that every business and every citizen contribute to the friendship between Vietnam and China, which is both comrade and brother, to increasingly blossom and bear fruit, bringing practical results to businesses, the two countries and the two peoples. The Prime Minister hopes and believes that, with the attention of the two governments, the support of relevant agencies and the efforts of the business community and related entities, cultural and tourism cooperation between the two countries will become increasingly substantive, effective and sustainable.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh witnessed the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between Vietnam Airlines and Nguyen Chi Lu Guangzhou Tourism and Science and Technology Company Limited. (Photo: Thanh Giang)

* Within the framework of the Program, Vietnamese tourism and transportation corporations and enterprises and Chinese partners signed and exchanged 7 memorandums of understanding to promote two-way tourist attraction and exchange in the coming time, including a memorandum of understanding between the tourism agencies of the two countries; between Vietnam Airlines Corporation and Nguyen Chi Lu Guangzhou Tourism and Science and Technology Company Limited on launching the campaign to bring 299,000 tourists to Vietnam from 2024-2030.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/lien-ket-chat-che-hop-tac-sau-rong-ve-van-hoa-du-lich-giua-viet-nam-va-trung-quoc-post843858.html