Chinese Premier Li Qiang gets hands-on experience of making Đông Hồ folk paintings on Sunday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Chinese Premier Li Qiang got hands-on experience of making Đông Hồ folk paintings and visited an exhibition displaying Việt Nam’s distinctive agricultural products exported to China in Hà Nội on Sunday.

Amid the melodic tunes of Quan Họ (love duet) folk songs from the northern province of Bắc Ninh, the two leaders admired the making of the traditional Đông Hồ paintings demonstrated by local artisans. After observing and learning about the printing techniques, significance, and artistic value of the art genre, they participated in creating one painting titled "Riding a buffalo while playing a flute," which depicts the serene countryside of Vietnam.

The paintings, using woodblock printing techniques, originate from Đông Hồ village in Song Hồ ward of Bắc Ninh’s Thuận Thành township. Historically, they were primarily sold during the Lunar New Year, with rural residents purchasing them to decorate their walls, only to be replaced with new ones at the end of the year. With significant historical, cultural, and scientific value, the art of making Đông Hồ folk paintings has been recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage. Efforts are underway to compile its scientific documentation for submission for UNESCO recognition as an intangible cultural heritage.

Afterward, Chính and Li visited the farm produce exhibition showcasing Vietnamese goods such as swiftlet nest, durian, fresh coconut, banana, coffee, and milk. These items are among Việt Nam’s 14 agricultural products officially exported to the Chinese market.

In the first nine months of 2024, Việt Nam’s export turnover of agro-forestry-aquatic products to China reached US$9.26 billion, with fruits and vegetables accounting for $3.4 billion, an annual increase of 36 per cent.

During their earlier discussions on the same day, PM Chính urged China to further open its market for high-quality Vietnamese agricultural products, such as citrus fruits, pomelo, avocado, custard apple, water apple, traditional herbal medicines of plant origin, buffalo meat, beef, pork, livestock and poultry products, and farm-raised ornate spiny lobster. Li said that China will continue to further open its market for Vietnamese goods, especially high-quality agro-aquatic products and fruits. - VNS