Vietnamese, Chinese leaders discuss major directions to further strengthen cooperation

August 20, 2024

BEIJING – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee and President Tô Lâm and his Chinese counterpart, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President Xi Jinping, conducted official talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on Monday, following the grand welcome ceremony.

China’s top leader Xi Jinping welcomed the Vietnamese delegation on the State visit and congratulated Tô Lâm on his election as the Party leader and President of Việt Nam.

General Secretary and President Xi Jinping once again expressed his deep condolences on the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng. He highly valued the significant and important contributions of the late leader to Việt Nam’s revolutionary cause, Việt Nam-China relations, and the development of socialism globally.

Xi Jinping expressed confidence that the Party and State of Việt Nam would continue to inherit the legacy of the late General Secretary Trọng, achieving even greater successes in the renewal process and the construction of socialism.

General Secretary and President Xi Jinping underscored that the first state visit to China by General Secretary and President Lâm, as well as his first abroad trip as the head of Việt Nam’s Party and State, held tremendous significance. It reflected the high regard and top priority that both Parties and countries place on Việt Nam-China relations, marking a pivotal moment to elevate the bilateral relationship to new heights and deeper, more substantive dimensions across all areas.

He affirmed that Việt Nam remained a top priority in China’s foreign policy and reiterated China’s support for the country’s steadfast leadership under the Party in promoting the Socialist cause.

On behalf of the Party, State and people of Việt Nam, Vietnamese leader Tô Lâm expressed his sincere and heartfelt thanks to the CPC for sending profound condolences and displaying numerous special gestures following the passing of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng. These acts strongly underscored the high-level relationship between the two countries, as well as the special bond between Xi Jinping and Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

The Vietnamese leader expressed deep gratitude to his Chinese counterpart and Chinese people for their warm reception, which vividly reflected the comradeship and fraternity between the two Parties and nations.

He sincerely thanked Xi Jinping for the congratulations and expressed a desire to work closely with him and China’s leadership to continue fostering the friendship and jointly promote the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and the Việt Nam-China community of shared future with strategic significance.

Highlighting the importance of the visit, Tô Lâm affirmed that Việt Nam always prioritised its friendly neighbour and partnership with China.

In a cordial and friendly atmosphere, the two leaders exchanged views on the situation in their respective Parties and countries, as well as the relations between the two.

The Vietnamese leader congratulated the significant and important achievements made by the Chinese Party, State, and People under the “core” leadership of Xi Jinping over the past decade of the “new era,” especially since the 20th National Party Congress, as well as expressed confidence in the success of China’s Socialist cause.

He briefed Xi Jinping on Việt Nam’s recent situation, particularly in economic and social development, Party building, political system reforms, anti-corruption efforts, national defence, security and foreign policies.

He emphasised that Việt Nam would harness its spirit of “self-reliance, confidence, self-sufficiency, national pride” to successfully implement the resolutions of the 13th National Party Congress and prepare for the successful organisation of the Party’s 14th Congress in 2026.

General Secretary, President Xi Jinping congratulated Việt Nam on its achievements and expressed confidence that, under the leadership of the CPV, more successes would be coming in the đổi mới (renewal) process and the pursuance of socialism.

He reiterated China’s support for Việt Nam’s goal of becoming a high-income developed country by 2045, as outlined in the 13th National Party Congress.

Recalling the meaningful events during his first stop in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, the Vietnamese leader underscored the significance of the visit, which coincided with the 100th anniversary of President Hồ Chí Minh’s arrival in Guangzhou, after 13 years of looking for a way to save the country.

This visit demonstrated Việt Nam’s appreciation for China’s valuable support during key historical periods.

Xi Jinping stressed that President Hồ Chí Minh’s illustrious years forged a “deep bond of comradeship and brotherhood” between Việt Nam and China.

The two General Secretaries and Presidents expressed satisfaction with the positive momentum in bilateral relations, especially following the historic visits of the top leaders of both Parties in 2022 and 2023.

These visits resulted in many positive outcomes, following the ‘six enhancements’ approach, including higher political trust, deeper substantive cooperation in national defence and security, more solid social foundations, closer coordination on multilateral platforms and more effective management and resolution of differences.

Amid complex and unpredictable global and regional developments, Tô Lâm reaffirmed Việt Nam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, while pursuing diversification and multilateralism in foreign relations and maintaining the ‘Four Nos’ defence policy.

Xi Jinping strongly affirmed that China remained committed to friendly relations with Việt Nam, always regarding Việt Nam as a top priority and strategic choice in its diplomatic strategy with neighbouring countries.

The two leaders engaged in extensive discussions on major directions to further strengthen trust, solidify friendship, enhance the effectiveness of practical cooperation in various areas, maintain peace and stability at sea and advance the Việt Nam-China relationship healthily, stably and sustainably, in line with the ‘Sixteen-Word Guideline’ and the ‘Four Goods’ spirit.

Party General Secretary, President of Vietnam To Lam and General Secretary, President of China Xi Jinping shake hands at their talks in Beijing on Monday. PHOTO: VNA/VNS/VIET NAM NEWS

The two leaders reached a high level of consensus on enhancing political trust, maintaining regular exchanges between the high-level leaders of the two Parties and nations and emphasising the strategic guiding role of the Party channel in the overall bilateral relationship.

They also agreed to deepen theoretical cooperation through mechanisms such as the theoretical seminars between the two Parties, sharing latest theoretical and practical achievements of each Party and country, contributing meaningfully to their respective causes.

The two leaders highlighted the importance of fostering and expanding substantive cooperation in key areas.

They agreed to continue strengthening cooperation in security and defence, promoting economic and trade cooperation, and enhancing connectivity between the ‘Two Corridors, One Belt’ initiative and the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’.

Furthermore, they agreed to advance infrastructure connectivity, particularly in rail and road, strengthen supply chain cooperation and foster economic cooperation between border provinces, while promoting exchanges in state-owned enterprise reforms.

General Secretary and President Tô Lâm proposed that both sides enhance cooperation in constructing large, symbolic projects that are commensurate with the level of political trust and reflect China’s advanced technological development.

He called on China to provide concessional loans, transfer technology, support human resource training and invest in key transportation infrastructure projects in Việt Nam.

Xi Jinping affirmed that China was ready to increase imports of Vietnamese agricultural products and expand trade promotion offices in China, facilitating access for high-quality Vietnamese goods into the Chinese market.

As the two nations approach the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations in 2025, the two General Secretaries and Presidents agreed on the necessity of further promoting people-to-people exchanges and strengthening the bonds of friendship between the two peoples, particularly among the younger generations. They also agreed to designate 2025 as the ‘Year of Việt Nam-China Cultural Exchange’.

The two leaders engaged in deep discussions on various international and regional issues of shared concern, highlighting mutual coordination and support in multilateral forums and international mechanisms, based on the legitimate interests of both nations and positive contributions to the global community.

Regarding maritime issues, the two sides engaged in sincere and candid discussions, agreeing to implement well the high-level common understandings and striving to manage and resolve differences more effectively.

General Secretary and President Tô Lâm proposed that both sides must respect each other’s legitimate interests, resolve differences through peaceful means, and adhere to the United Nations Charter, international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) and fully and seriously implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) (DOC) while promoting a substantive, effective Code of Conduct (COC) in line with international law and UNCLOS 1982.

On behalf of the Party and State of Việt Nam, General Secretary and President Tô Lâm extended an invitation to his counterpart to visit Việt Nam again soon and Xi Jinping graciously accepted the invitation with thanks.

After the talks, General Secretary and President Tô Lâm and General Secretary and President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements between the Parties, ministries and localities of both countries in areas such as Party schools, agricultural trade, broadcasting and journalism, healthcare, infrastructure, trade and industry and banking.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping enjoyed tea following their talks. PHOTO: VNA/VNS/VIET NAM NEWS

The Chinese leader cordially invited General Secretary and President Tô Lâm to join him for a tea party. This is a special form of engagement that has been established and maintained during many recent high-level visits between the top leaders of the two Parties and countries, demonstrating the importance and the ‘comrades and brothers’ spirit between the leaders of both nations.

In a joyful, warm and friendly atmosphere, the two General Secretaries and Presidents reminisced about the tradition of friendship between the two Parties and countries, had a sincere exchange about tea culture in each country’s customs, reviewed the common understandings reached during their talks and emphasised the importance of further developing bilateral relations to new heights.