Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of the Party Central Committee, Bùi Thanh Sơn. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

HÀ NỘI — The freshly-concluded visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng has helped enhance sentiments, political trust and mutual understanding between the two countries, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn has said.

Sơn told the press that the official visit, from October 30 to November 1, positively contributed to promoting the solidarity and traditional friendship between Việt Nam and China, and boosting and deepening their bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

According to the Vietnamese foreign minister, the visit is of great significance to the neighbouring countries and has attracted public attention, both domestically and internationally.

It has been a success in all aspects, he stressed, adding that this was the first in-person official diplomatic activity between the top leaders of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) and the Communist Party of China (CPC) since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

This was also the first overseas trip by Party General Secretary Trọng after the 13th National Congress of the CPV, the minister continued.

He noted that Trọng was the first and highest-ranking foreign leader the CPC Central Committee and Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping had received following the 20th CPC National Congress – a top important political event of the Chinese Party and people.

The fact demonstrates the importance the two Parties and countries attach to each other, especially the respect of the Chinese Party, Government and people and Xi himself for the Vietnamese Party leader, with the highest-level welcome and many special arrangements.

The visit was a follow-up of the regular meetings and contacts by the top leaders of the two Parties and countries over the past years, he said, elaborating the four phone talks in 2020 and 2021, along with the exchange of letters and congratulatory messages on the occasion of big events of each side.

In the context of the regional and world situation developing complicatedly and unpredictably, and the cause of reform and opening-up and socialism building in each country entering the new period, Trọng’s visit holds great significance as it has contributed to creating a firm political foundation and boosting substantive cooperation between the two countries across spheres.

The visit also demonstrates that the Vietnamese Party and State always place importance and give the top priority to building and developing the good relations with China, for fundamental, long-term interests of the two peoples, and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

It was intended to realise Việt Nam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation, and diversification of relations, active and proactive international integration, and being a friend, a reliable partner and responsible member of the international community, Sơn said.

Regarding outcomes of the visit, the minister highlighted the two sides issued a 13-point joint statement, with strategic contents orienting the bilateral relations in all fields in the time ahead.

They also agreed to continue enhancing and deepening the Việt Nam – China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership under the motto "friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, and forward-looking" and in the spirit of "good neighbours, good friends, good comrades, and good partners”.

On this occasion, Vietnamese and Chinese ministries, agencies and localities signed 13 cooperation documents in various areas which lay a foundation and a premise for them to cooperate effectively in the years to come, helping to promote the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in a healthy, stable and sustainable manner, for the sake of the two peoples, and for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

According to the minister, the statement and the documents vividly reflect the nature and the cohesion of the Việt Nam – China relations, and the strong resolve by the two Parties and countries in further enhancing and deepening the bilateral cooperation in the time ahead.

To materialise the common perceptions reached by the two leaders, and outcomes reaped during the visit, Sơn suggested the two sides work to intensify mutual understanding, consolidate and promote their political trust by maintaining regular meetings.

The two countries should strive to create considerable result-oriented changes and raise the efficiency of economic, trade and investment cooperation as well as collaboration in other fields, thus bringing pragmatic interests and creating a solid foundation for the bilateral ties, he noted.

The minister also proposed the two sides control and satisfactorily iron out differences at sea, maintain the peaceful, stable environment in the South China Sea (known in Việt Nam as the East Sea) and the region, and seriously observe the reached high-level perceptions.

“I firmly believe that by fully, comprehensively and effectively implementing the high-level perceptions reached during the official visit to China by Party General Secretary Trọng, the friendly neighbourliness and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Việt Nam and China will grow stronger in the time ahead, as per wish of the two Party leaders to bring the bilateral relations to a new development period with higher political trust, more pragmatic cooperation, more solid social foundation, and better controlled differences,” he said.

Chinese Ambassador to Việt Nam Xiong Bo, in an interview with Vietnam News Agency, concurred that Party leader Trọng's trip was extremely important as it took place in a context that socialism building in the countries is entering a new development period, reflecting the importance of the relations between the two Parties and the countries.

The top leaders met again after five years and together outlined a roadmap and orientations for the development of the China – Việt Nam relations in the new period, further intensified the two Parties, States, and peoples’ common political perception about the promotion of bilateral ties, and sent out a clear message that both will enhance solidarity and cooperation and stay persistent in the path to socialism, the ambassador noted.

The leaders affirmed the importance of the persistence in the path to socialism, the reinforcement of solid socialist economic foundations, and the capitalisation of the traditional friendship, in which the countries are both comrades and brothers, in the new context, he commented.

To demonstrate the CPC and Chinese people’s friendship with General Secretary Trọng and the Vietnamese people, China made many special arrangements.

CPC General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping presented the Friendship Order to CPV General Secretary Trọng. In the banquet held in honour of the Vietnamese leader, the host leader introduced each member in the Standing Board of the CPC’s Politburo for the new tenure to his guest, which clearly illustrated the political resolve of the new CPC leadership in joining Việt Nam to make efforts and develop.

Ambassador Xiong expressed his belief that the visit has marked a considerable milestone in good diplomatic relations and also gave a strong impulse to the development of the relations between the two Parties and the two countries in the new period. — VNS