Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính will pay an official visit to China and attend the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from June 25-28, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The visit was made at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang and WEF Founder and Chairman Klaus Schwab, spokesperson for the foreign ministry Phạm Thu Hằng said.

PM Chính's first official visit to China takes place as both countries are maintaining positive trends of development, particularly since the visit of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Nguyễn Phú Trọng to the neighbouring country in late 2022, while trade and economic ties and cooperation in other areas continue to deepen.

Việt Nam is China's fourth largest trading partner with a bilateral trade turnover in 2022 reaching US$175 billion, Hằng said.

During the trip, PM Chính will attend an official welcome ceremony and hold talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. He will also meet with senior Chinese leaders to discuss major measures to enhance cooperation between the two countries, in order to continue implementing the high-level agreements reached during the Vietnamese Party leader's visit.

The trip also seeks to fulfil the Việt Nam-China Joint Statement issued during Party Chief Trọng's previous visit and to promote the sound and sustainable development of the Việt Nam-China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership.

Both sides are also set to exchange views on the maintenance of peace and stability in the region as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest.

As part of the visit, PM Chính is also expected to attend the Việt Nam-China Business Forum, as well as meet with the Vietnamese community living in China and with a number of Chinese partners, scholars and businesses.

The relationship between Việt Nam and WEF has continued to flourish in recent years, with bilateral cooperation growing ever more meaningful, focusing on a number of important areas such as policy consultation, plastic waste, waste reduction, sustainable agriculture, human resource training and digital transformation.

Under the theme 'Entrepreneurship: The Driving Force of the Global Economy', the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, often considered the Summer Davos, held this year in Tianjin, China - will focus on growth adjustment, energy transformation, environmental protection, and post-pandemic consumer trends.

The foreign ministry spokesperson informs that PM Chính will deliver remarks during the plenary session, attend and deliver remarks at this session on preventing a 'lost decade', meet with founder and Chairman of WEF Klaus Schwab, co-chair the Việt Nam-WEF Country Strategic Dialogue, and meet with heads of governments and leaders of businesses at the meeting. — VNS