The special nature of the friendship between Vietnam and China

Sharing about the results of Chinese Premier Li Qiang's visit to Vietnam, Ambassador He Wei said the visit fully reflected the special nature of the special friendship between China and Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chinese Premier Li Qiang pose for a photo before their talks. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

Meeting and sharing with the press about the results of the official visit to Vietnam by the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Ha Vi said that the visit of Premier Li Qiang was extremely successful.

The visit fully reflects the special nature of Vietnam-China relations.

“Premier Li Qiang’s visit takes place in the first year of implementing the important consensus between the top leaders of the two parties on promoting the building of a China-Vietnam community of shared future. It is the first visit by a Chinese Premier to Vietnam in 11 years, and also the first visit by Comrade Li Qiang since taking office. This is an extremely important visit to the relationship between the two countries, which both sides attach great importance to,” Ambassador Ha Vi said.

According to the Ambassador, the importance of the visit is demonstrated through the official visit schedule of Prime Minister Li Qiang with meetings with Vietnamese leaders.

On the evening of October 12, upon arriving in Hanoi, Prime Minister Li Cuong was welcomed and met by General Secretary and President To Lam.

Then, on October 13, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh spent a lot of time welcoming Prime Minister Li Cuong with many activities such as the official welcoming ceremony, talks, reception, witnessing the exchange of 10 cooperation documents, attending the Dialogue between businesses of the two countries, and a number of other activities.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also met with Prime Minister Li Qiang. At the end of the visit, the two sides issued a Joint Statement with rich content.

“All of these fully reflect the special nature of the special friendship between China and Vietnam,” the Ambassador emphasized, adding that he had discussions with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son as well as other senior Vietnamese officials, and both sides agreed that the results of this visit were extremely rich, playing a positive role in promoting the building of a community of shared future between Vietnam and China, which has strategic significance.

Clarifying the results of the visit, Ambassador Ha Vi said that the results of the visit were reflected in three aspects.

The first, The visit contributed to further strengthening mutual political trust between the two sides. During the meetings and talks, the two sides reaffirmed that developing bilateral relations is a priority and strategic choice for each other, emphasizing that the development of each country is an opportunity for the other country to develop, a positive factor for the development of the region and the world, and agreed to fully implement the important common perceptions reached between the high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and two countries, promoting the Vietnam-China community of shared future to achieve practical results in the direction of "6 more". The visit also highlighted the leading role of the high-ranking leaders of the two countries in developing bilateral relations.

Monday, promoting practical cooperation between Vietnam and China is developing rapidly and strongly. The two sides reached important consensus on continuing to expand economic and trade cooperation, while promoting “hard connections” in railways, highways, seaport infrastructure and “soft connections” such as smart customs. The two sides also successfully organized a thematic discussion between representatives of the two countries’ businesses, creating conditions for the business communities of the two countries to cooperate more deeply.

The construction of three railway lines in northern Vietnam has also made some positive progress. Currently, the planning for the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong standard gauge railway is being finalized, and the planning of the Dong Dang-Hanoi and Mong Cai-Ha Long-Hai Phong standard gauge railways is also being actively promoted. China has provided related aid.

The Ambassador believes that with the progress of “soft connections” and “hard connections” such as the construction of cross-border railways, Vietnam will open up an economic corridor connecting Central Asia and even Europe via China, transforming Vietnam’s northern border area from a closed inland area into an open “frontier” area, continuing to consolidate Vietnam’s position as a “gateway” in regional cooperation.

Third, the visit contributed to creating a comprehensive consensus on friendship between the people of the two countries. The media of both countries reported extensively on the visit, demonstrating the positive development of bilateral relations, spreading the consensus of friendship from high to grassroots levels.

The leaders of the two sides reached important common perceptions on promoting the propaganda of Vietnam-China friendship, enhancing mutual understanding between the people of the two countries, and supporting local exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, especially in provinces and border areas.

“The two sides also had candid and in-depth discussions on maritime issues. The two sides are highly unanimous in adhering to the principle of controlling differences through friendly consultations and have full confidence in the future of China-Vietnam relations,” Ambassador Ha Vi said.

Continue to foster the traditional friendship between the two countries

As the newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam, Ambassador Ha Vi shared his views on the current relationship between the two countries and the potential for development in various fields in the coming time.

Ambassador Ha Vi. (Photo: Thanh Tung/VNA)

According to the Ambassador, his first impression since arriving in Vietnam to take up his duties was that the strategic guidance of the top leaders of the two Parties and two countries is the "balance point" in bilateral relations.

Reviewing the highest-level visits between the two countries in the past three years, as well as emphasizing the role of the predecessor leaders, President Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao Zedong, in laying the foundation for the sincere friendship and profound revolutionary sentiment between the two countries, Ambassador Ha Vi expressed his belief that the leaders of the two countries will inherit and promote the legacy of previous generations of leaders, continue to nurture the traditional friendship between the two countries, and work together to build a community of shared future between Vietnam and China of strategic significance.

Ambassador Ha Vi said that his second impression of the current bilateral relationship is that the building of a community with a shared future has had a good start, with substantive cooperation becoming a "growth point" in the bilateral relationship.

Specifically, China is Vietnam's largest trading partner. Bilateral trade turnover has exceeded 200 billion USD for 3 consecutive years; in the first 8 months of 2024 (from January to August), it reached 167 billion USD, an increase of 19.2% over the same period last year.

Taking Vietnamese durian as an example, according to the Ambassador, since the official export at the end of 2022, the export turnover of Vietnamese durian to China in 2023 reached 2.3 billion USD, accounting for 90% of Vietnam's total durian export turnover.

In the first seven months of this year (January to July), the China-Vietnam express transit train set a new monthly record for volume three times; the construction of the Vietnam-China cross-border railway has also been accelerated to promote regional connectivity.

With experience in restructuring and developing the economy, the Chinese Ambassador affirmed that China is willing to share with Vietnam to move towards more effective industrialization and modernization.

“I believe that as long as both sides have trust, patience and determination, many complex problems can be resolved,” the Ambassador emphasized.

Sharing his third impression about the bilateral relationship, Ambassador Ha Vi emphasized that people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries have great potential and are the "reserves" of the bilateral relationship.

According to the Ambassador, there are currently about 23,000 Vietnamese students in China, double the number before the COVID-19 outbreak. Chinese movies and television dramas are still popular in Vietnam, and Chinese entertainment programs are also enthusiastically received by the Vietnamese public. At the same time, in the opposite direction, Vietnamese artists and cultural products are also welcomed by the Chinese public, for example, Vietnamese music "star" Chi Pu has a large fan base in China and the song "See love" Vietnamese music is very popular on the Chinese Internet, reflecting the cultural exchange between the two countries.

Regarding tourism, in the first 8 months of 2024, Vietnam welcomed 2.4 million Chinese visitors, accounting for 21.4% of total international visitors, ranking second among Vietnam's international tourist markets. There are more than 200 round-trip flights between the two countries every week.

2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and is also the “Year of Vietnam-China Humanitarian Exchange.” Ambassador Ha Vi said that the two sides need to seize this opportunity, work together to consolidate a more solid social foundation, continue to promote traditional friendship, so that the friendship between the people of the two countries becomes a catalyst for bilateral relations./.

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