Vietnamese Minister of Justice Lê Thành Long and Chinese counterpart He Rong exchanged documents on holding the first justice conference between Việt Nam-China border localities. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Minister of Justice Lê Thành Long and Chinese counterpart He Rong on Friday held talks in Hà Nội, as part of the latter's four-day working visit to Việt Nam.

During the talks, Minister Long congratulated the significant, historical achievements that the Communist Party of China (CPC), the State and the people of China have attained, especially over the past decade since the 18th National Party Congress.

Minister Long congratulated and highly appreciated the contributions of the Chinese Ministry of Justice as the standing agency of the Commission for Comprehensive Law-based Governance of the CPC Central Committee in the construction of China's "socialist rule of law state".

Minister briefed the Chinese official on the socio-economic situation of Việt Nam in the first quarter of 2024, overviewed the Party's principles and directions in the construction and improvement of the socialist rule of law state, as reflected in the documents of the 13th National Party Congress and Resolution 27-NQ/TW dated November 9, 2022, of the sixth plenum of the Party Central Committee of the 13th Party Congress, which sets the goal of building a "democratic, fair, humane, comprehensive, systematic, unified, timely, feasible, transparent, stable, accessible legal system, paving the way for innovation, sustainable development and rigorous, consistent enforcement mechanisms."

The implementation of Resolution 27-NQ/TW poses many new requirements and tasks for the Vietnamese justice sector in the future, Long said.

To this end, cooperation and sharing of knowledge and experiences from countries around the world – especially China, a neighbouring country with rich experience in legal and judicial work, with many similarities to Việt Nam in terms of ideological foundation, socialist-oriented goals, political, economic, cultural, and social aspects – are needed, the Vietnamese official noted.

Chinese justice chief He Rong briefly introduced the CPC's principles and policies in the legal and judicial field, the functions and tasks of the Chinese Ministry of Justice and the Commission for Comprehensive Law-based Governance, and also briefly introduced some initiatives of the Chinese Ministry of Justice in promoting regional cooperation.

Minister He Rong believed that Việt Nam has achieved many results in building and improving the socialist rule of law state, which is an important prerequisite for both sides to exchange and learn from each other's experiences.

Regarding cooperation in legal and judicial matters between Việt Nam and China, the two Ministers highly appreciated the efforts made by the justice ministries of both countries in negotiating and signing two important cooperation documents.

On October 31, 2022, during the official visit of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng to China, the two ministries signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the legal field to replace the previous cooperation document, the Agreement on Cooperation between the two justice ministries in 1997. In this Memorandum, the two sides agreed to exchange experiences in law building, review legal normative documents and organise legal enforcement; exchange experiences in legal education and dissemination; grassroots-level reconciliation; legal assistance; lawyer and notary management; administrative violation handling; legal reform, and building the rule of law state.

Based on this new Memorandum, the two Justice Ministries agreed and signed the Cooperation Programme for 2024-25 (signed on December 8, 2023, during the state visit to Việt Nam by CPC General Secretary, President Xi Jinping).

The two Ministers requested specialised units under the justice ministries of both countries to actively coordinate in effectively implementing these cooperation documents and to periodically review and evaluate the results and effectiveness of cooperation activities to propose further measures to enhance cooperation to the leadership of each country's justice ministry.

Immediately after the talks, the two Ministers signed an Agreement on organising the First Conference among the judicial agencies of localities along the Việt Nam-China border (to be held in China in 2025). — VNS