Vietnam a priority in China’s policy of neighbourhood diplomacy: Premier

BEIJING (Vietnam News/ANN) --  China consistently considers its relationship with Vietnam a priority in its policy of neighbourhood diplomacy, said Chinese Premier Li Qiang at a meeting with visiting Vietnamese Party General Secretary and President To Lam in Beijing on Monday.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang (right) welcomes Vietnamese Party General Secretary and President To Lam.

Welcoming Lam on his first state visit to China, which is also his first overseas trip in his new role as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, Li said that the visit reflects the high importance and top priority that the Vietnamese Party and State place on the bilateral relationship.
He believed it will provide a strong impetus for the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the Vietnam-China community with a shared future to enter a new phase with more substantive outcomes.
The Chinese Party and Government remain steadfast in supporting Vietnam to comprehensively promote its reform, accelerate industrialisation and modernisation, and successfully build socialism suited to Vietnam’s conditions, he said.
Lam said Vietnam always considers the development of friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation with China a consistent policy, a strategic choice, and a top priority in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of external relations.
The country will continue upholding the significant achievements and common perceptions reached by high-ranking leaders of both sides to elevate the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and build the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
Both sides expressed pleasure that the relationship between the two Parties and countries has reached a historic development to the most intensive, comprehensive and substantive level ever seen, with significant results such as reinforced political trust, elevated relationship, regularly maintained exchanges and contact at all levels, thriving trade collaboration, strongly growing Chinese investments in Vietnam, strong tourism recovery, and enhanced locality-to-locality cooperation and people-to-people exchange.
Holding that the two countries boast huge potential for cooperation, the two leaders agreed to make joint efforts to bolster political and economic confidence, effectively build the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, taking the bilateral ties to a new development period in the direction of the “six major orientations”, maintain regular contact at all levels, and promote exchanges and cooperation via Party, Government, National Assembly/National People’s Congress, and Fatherland Front/People’s Political Consultative Conference channels.
They concurred to expand cooperation in such key areas as foreign affairs, defence and security, enhance substantive collaboration to carve out further achievements, step up locality-to-locality connection and people-to-people exchange, well arrange activities to mark the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, consolidate a solid social foundation, create new motives for the development of the bilateral ties, and maintain close coordination and cooperation as well as support each other at multilateral forums and mechanisms.
Party General Secretary and President Lam welcomed China’s engagement in developing three standard-gauge railway projects that connect the two nations, the Vientiane – Vung Ang railway, and the metro system in Hanoi. He went on to ask China to continue opening up its market for high-quality farm produce from Vietnam, and create favourable conditions for the country to set up its Consulate General in Chongqing, and trade promotion offices in China.

(Latest Update August 21, 2024)