Vietnam, China to sign a series of documents during Xi Jinping's visit

The visit of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping brings with it many expectations for Vietnam-China relations, with "a large number" of documents to be signed.

General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping welcomes General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong during his visit in 2022 - Photo: VNA

According to the announcement of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and his wife will pay a state visit to Vietnam on December 12 and 13.

The visit took place at the invitation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife, and President Vo Van Thuong and his wife. This is the highest-level visit of China to Vietnam after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2022.

Vietnam and China both have "very high" expectations for Xi Jinping's visit.

Xi Jinping's trip took place more than a year after General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's historic visit to China (late October, early November 2022). At the same time, it took place at the time of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between Vietnam and China.

"In such a context and with the importance of the visit, this will certainly be a new historical milestone in Vietnam-China relations," Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu affirmed when answering the press on December 9.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Vu, Vietnam and China are two countries with many similarities such as sharing a border, being two socialist countries led by the Communist Party, having traditional friendly relations, and having increasingly close interests.

Therefore, both countries attach importance to their relationship with each other, and both identify the Vietnam-China and China-Vietnam relations as the priority direction in each country's foreign relations.

President Vo Van Thuong met with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping in Beijing in October 2023 - Photo: VNA

Mr. Nguyen Minh Vu said that both Vietnam and China "have high expectations" for this visit, demonstrated through three points.

First , expectations for a "new position" and "new level" of bilateral relations.

Building on the important achievements of 15 years of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, the leaders of the two Parties and two countries will further deepen the cooperation framework for the long-term future of bilateral relations in a more sustainable, substantive and effective direction, contributing to the trend of peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world.

Second , expectations of substantive cooperation results in all fields.

Leaders of the two Parties and two countries will identify major directions and focuses as well as specific measures to enhance substantive cooperation in all fields, meeting the interests of both sides.

"There will likely be a large number of documents signed in many fields, creating an important foundation for agencies, localities, people and businesses to implement more effective cooperation in the coming time," the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs revealed.

Third , expectations about the spillover effects of the visit to all levels, sectors and people.

Accordingly, this visit, together with that of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, is expected to continue to create strong motivation and impetus for sectors, levels, localities and people's organizations to continue to maintain and develop existing relationships. Thereby, building a solid and good social foundation for the development of bilateral relations.

Many achievements after 15 years of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu - Photo: VNA

Since the two sides established the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, the relationship between the two Parties and two countries has developed increasingly substantive, solid and comprehensive in all fields.

Political relations have developed strongly, high-level and all-level exchanges have been enhanced with many mutual visits.

Economic, trade and investment cooperation is increasingly deepening. China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner for 20 consecutive years and Vietnam is currently China's largest trading partner in ASEAN and China's fourth largest trading partner in the world.

Bilateral trade turnover increased ninefold from 20 billion USD in 2008 to nearly 180 billion USD in 2022. Over 15 years, China's investment in Vietnam increased more than 10 times from a cumulative 2 billion USD in 2008 to 25 billion USD today.

In 2023 alone, China rose to fourth place among countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

People-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities have been vibrant and achieved many practical results. To date, nearly 60 provinces and cities of Vietnam have established friendly cooperative relations with Chinese localities.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, China had been the leading tourist destination in Vietnam for many years. On average, one in three international visitors to Vietnam was Chinese.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Vu, Vietnam and China have achieved many successes in building their land border. At sea, both countries are making efforts to maintain negotiations and enhance cooperation, with the aim of controlling disagreements and managing differences with relevant parties in accordance with the provisions of international law, including UNCLOS 1982, contributing to ensuring peace and stability in the East Sea and the region.

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