Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn had talks with Secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee of China’s Yunnan Province Wang Ning on Tuesday. — Photo from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

HÀ NỘI — Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn received the visiting Secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee of China’s Yunnan Province, Wang Ning, in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

Both host and guest highly valued the progress in the Việt Nam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, especially in politics, economy, trade, and investment, saying the official visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Nguyễn Phú Trọng in October 2022 was an important milestone opening up a new development period for relations between the two Parties and the two countries.

Stressing the role of locality-to-locality exchanges, they expressed their delight at the encouraging results of substantive cooperation between Vietnamese sectors and localities and Yunnan Province.

Minister Sơn affirmed that the Party, State, and people of Việt Nam always attached importance to the friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation with China and view this as the leading priority of Việt Nam's foreign policy.

He appreciated contributions by the Party organisation, administration, and people of Yunnan to the two countries’ friendship, including the upgrade of the President Hồ Chí Minh relic site in Kunming City and the donation of a large amount of medical supplies to Việt Nam to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Giving some suggestions for enhancing cooperation between Việt Nam and Yunnan, he recommended increasing mutual visits at all levels, bringing into play existing cooperation mechanisms and programmes, and expanding friendship exchanges between organisations of the two sides’ border residents.

Sơn asked Yunnan to boost importing agricultural and aquatic products of Việt Nam's strength, coordinate to maintain smooth customs clearance at border gates, step up road and rail transport connectivity in border areas, and resume the direct air route for passenger and cargo transport between the two sides early.

The official also called on both sides to maintain close coordination in the management and sustainable use of water sources of border rivers and streams, properly implement the three legal documents on land border between Việt Nam and China and related agreements, soon complete procedures for upgrading and opening some border gate pairs and border crossings, work together more closely to manage and guarantee order and security in border areas, create favourable conditions for friendship exchanges and movements of border residents, and join hands to build a land border of peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

For his part, Secretary Wang said Yunnan attached special importance to the friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation with Vietnamese ministries, sectors, and localities.

The province wished to join Việt Nam in properly implementing the common perceptions reached between leaders of the two Parties and the two countries and continuing to develop bilateral relations in a substantive manner, he noted.

Agreeing with his host’s cooperation suggestions, he emphasised the readiness to maintain exchanges and contact with Vietnamese localities, especially those sharing the border with Yunnan, and capitalise on the two sides’ potential, strengths, and complementarities, thereby contributing to the Việt Nam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. — VNS