Vietnam places priority on strategic cooperative partnership with China
VOV.VN- Maintaining and developing the time-honoured friendship and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China is always one of the top priorities in Vietnam’s external policy.
Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son made the statement during a phone talks with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on April 16.
Son briefed his Chinese counterpart on Vietnam’s guideline for external relations set out at the 13th National Party Congress, under which Vietnam consistently pursues an independent foreign policy for peace, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralization, and comprehensive and in-depth international integration.
FM Wang Yi told Son that his nation attaches importance to strengthening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam and congratulated Vietnam on the success of the 13th National Party Congress and the 11th session of the 14th National Assembly, during which the country selected a new leadership and defined socio-economic development targets for the years to come.
The two diplomats shared the view that the two parties and countries’ relations should continue to maintain a positive development trend, with regular exchanges and contacts at all levels held in flexible forms, and economic-trade cooperative growing despite the heavy impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries have shared medical supplies and experience in combating the pandemic, and supported each other in times of natural disasters.
They consented to intensify exchanges at high level and other levels, and invited each other to make mutual visits at an appropriate time for direct discussion. They also pledged to bring into full play the role of the two Foreign Ministries in coordinating and promoting cooperation across a variety of fields in bilateral ties towards a healthy and substantial growth of economic-trade relations, and maintain discussions on international and regional issues of mutual concern.
The two FMs discussed sea-related issues in a sincere and straightforward manner and agreed to continue optimizing the role of existing negotiating mechanisms. Minister Son suggested the two sides should handle disputes in the spirit of respecting each other’s legitimate rights and interests, bilateral agreements and common perception, and international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and work together with ASEAN to achieve positive progress regarding a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).