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| General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping presented the Friendship Medal to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong during his visit to China from October 30 to November 1, 2022. (Source: VNA) |
The visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping is a diplomatic response to the visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong last year. This time, the high-ranking leaders met again, so the relationship between the two countries, which is already good, will be even better.
That is the assessment of Chairman of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association Nguyen Vinh Quang about the visit to Vietnam this time of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping (December 12-13) at the invitation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Vo Van Thuong.
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| Vice President of the Vietnam - China Friendship Association Nguyen Vinh Quang. (Photo: TT) |
President Xi Jinping's third visit to Vietnam
Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang said that all meetings between the two countries' top leaders are important, but each visit at different times has different importance and meaning.
According to the Vice President of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, the visit of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping is a diplomatic response to the visit last year of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (October 30 - November 1, 2022).
The visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was very successful with a 13-point Joint Statement, widely reported by the media, both countries and the world. The agreements reached between the two General Secretaries last year are being implemented very well. “This time the senior leaders met again, I think the relationship between the two countries is already good, it will be better,” Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang emphasized.
A special point that Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang commented on the visit is that this is the third time that General Secretary and President Xi Jinping has visited Vietnam. "I would also like to add that since the normalization of relations, this is the first time that a General Secretary and President of China has visited Vietnam three times," the Chinese expert added.
Therefore, Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang hopes that the visit will have good results, bringing benefits to the people of both countries. The two countries may reach new agreements or more specifically implement existing agreements into reality.
A rare year
Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang said that 2023 is the year when Vietnam-China relations will develop smoothly. After the Covid-19 pandemic, exchange activities and delegation exchanges were restored, starting with the visit to China by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The visit is of great significance, one could say historic, opening a new phase for the relationship between the two countries and resolving a number of difficult issues between the two countries.
After that visit, many high-ranking leaders, ministries, and localities of the two countries have met and interacted with each other. On the Vietnamese side, we can mention President Vo Van Thuong attending the 3rd Belt and Road Summit in Beijing (October); Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visiting China, attending the World Economic Forum in Tianjin (June), and most recently attending the China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Trade and Investment Summit in Guangxi (September); or the visit of Standing Secretary of the Secretariat Truong Thi Mai (April)...
On the Chinese side, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Vietnam to co-chair the meeting of the Steering Committee for Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation; Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress Wang Yong visited Vietnam; visits by the Secretaries of the Hainan and Yunnan Provincial Party Committees and the Guangxi Regional Party Committees...
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| President Vo Van Thuong met with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping on the occasion of attending the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in October 2023. (Source: VNA) |
According to Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang, such a short period of time with so many exchanges, meetings and contacts is rare. Because both sides have realized the significance of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's visit, and realized that the relationship between the two countries is at its most favorable stage of development. Not only politics and diplomacy but also economics, trade, people-to-people exchanges... have been strengthened and promoted.
“And it is a coincidence that 2023 is the year the two countries celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2008-2023). Looking back, we can see that the relationship between the two countries is developing in the right direction and the framework established by the two countries' senior leaders 15 years ago is very accurate,” said Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang.
The Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership is the highest diplomatic framework between Vietnam and countries in the world. China is the first country with which Vietnam has established a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership. Vietnam is also the first Southeast Asian country with which China has established this framework.
The potential for cooperation is still very large.
Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang said that in general, the relationship between the two countries last year was favorable and had many bright spots, and he hoped that the relationship between the two countries would be better in the future. However, he said that it must also be recognized that there are still outstanding issues between the two countries that need to find specific solutions to gradually resolve. Those issues have been mentioned and seriously discussed by senior leaders, and mechanisms to resolve those issues have also been resumed after the pandemic.
“There are still unresolved issues. If we clear them up this time, the relationship between the two countries will certainly be better,” the Chinese expert said. According to him, that is also the hope of many people, both in Vietnam and China.
In the Joint Statement on the occasion of the official visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (November 2022) and in the Joint Press Release on the occasion of the official visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to China (June 2023), both sides affirmed "agreeing to actively promote the connection of development strategies between the two countries".
Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang said that connecting development strategies is a trend in the world, especially when Vietnam and China are two neighboring countries with many similarities, so connecting is necessary.
The development potential between Vietnam and China is still very large, in which people-to-people and cultural exchanges are bright spots and strengths in the relationship between the two countries.
“As someone who has worked in people-to-people diplomacy for many years, I think it is very good to promote this factor. Because enhancing mutual understanding between the people of the two countries is the foundation and basis of the Vietnam-China friendship. If we talk about friendship but the people do not have exchanges or understanding, then that friendship is not real and may not be genuine,” the Chinese expert expressed.
Economically, according to Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang, despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, trade between the two countries has remained relatively good, especially after China opened up. Currently, China is Vietnam's largest trading partner and Vietnam is China's largest trading partner in ASEAN.
"The most encouraging thing is that the trade balance gap between Vietnam and China is gradually narrowing. In fact, many Vietnamese goods are increasingly popular with the Chinese, such as agricultural products, seafood... and there are even agricultural products that the Chinese have recently found attractive, such as durian. Therefore, the two countries still have a lot of room for cooperation," said Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang.
Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang commented that Vietnam is an agricultural country, with hard-working farmers producing many products and China is a very large market. On the other hand, China is like "a big factory of the world" that can provide Vietnam with many things that the market needs.
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