Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi at their meeting in Beijing on Wednesday. — Photo from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

BEIJING — Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi exchanged views on the bilateral ties and regional and international issues of shared concern during their meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.

Sơn is part of a delegation led by Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính to China for the 15th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting of the New Champions and working sessions.

The ministers reached consensus on specific measures and tasks to materialise agreements and high-level perceptions, especially the joint statement on continuing to deepen and elevate the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and build a Việt Nam-China community with shared future that carries strategic significance.

The two sides will also step up high-level and regular contacts and meetings, and work together to organise important external activities, notably the 16th Meeting of the Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation to be held in China.

The officials consented to enhance and improve the efficiency of collaboration in various areas, especially economy - trade, investment, transport connectivity, and strategic infrastructure development such as roads and railways, while promoting the pilot construction of smart border gates to facilitate trade.

Apart from intensifying people-to-people exchanges, consolidating the favourable social foundation for the relations between the two Parties and countries, and deepening locality-to-locality cooperation, Việt Nam and China will continue fostering their coordination and support within multilateral frameworks, and maintain their close coordination in land border management and protection in accordance with the three legal documents on land border and relevant agreements they have inked.

For the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) issue, both sides stressed the importance of seriously implementing agreements and common perceptions reached between high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and countries on well controlling and settling disputes, and effectively maintaining negotiation mechanisms on maritime issues, for peace and stability in the waters. — VNS