Vietnamese Ambassador to China Phạm Thanh Bình. VNA/VNS Photo

BEIJING — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính’s attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025 as a guest of the host country and his working trip to China from August 31 to September 1 carry important significance, conveying Việt Nam’s strong message of cooperation, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Phạm Thanh Bình told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident correspondent in Beijing.

This marks the first time a key Vietnamese leader has attended a SCO summit, Bình said, saying that the SCO Summit 2025 in Tianjin is a major international event, drawing the attendance of over twenty leaders of countries and heads of several international organisations. Set against complex global and regional landscapes with emerging challenges, in addition to cooperation in security and counterterrorism, the summit will also explore partnership in economy, connectivity, culture, education, and tourism.

PM Chính’s attendance affirms Việt Nam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation, proactive, active, extensive, intensive and effective international integration. At the same time, it reflects Việt Nam’s rising international stature and reputation, as the country has been invited to attend high-level multilateral forums and mechanisms of which it is not a member, such as the Group of Seven (G7), the Group of 20 (G20), the BRICS group of emerging economies, and now the SCO, Bình said.

He described the PM’s attendance and remarks at the expanded SCO summit as an opportunity for Việt Nam to showcase its socio-economic achievements on a multilateral stage. It also demonstrates Việt Nam’s determination to maintain its growth targets, ensure rapid and sustainable development, and share perspectives on issues of common concern. By doing so, Việt Nam contributes to advancing multilateralism, supporting the core principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for sustainable development, and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation, he added.

According to the diplomat, PM Chính’s busy agenda and bilateral meetings on the summit’s sidelines will broaden exchanges and cooperation, creating opportunities to spread Việt Nam’s images and reaffirm its role and stature today. These activities will also help deepen economic, trade, and investment ties with Asian and European partners, while conveying Việt Nam’s message of determination and efforts to achieve its growth targets and strategic orientations in the new era.

Bình noted that PM Chính's trip comes at a time when bilateral relations are enjoying particularly strong and comprehensive momentum, guided by the “six major orientations” framework. It also coincides with the seventy-fifth anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, alongside a series of events marking the Việt Nam–China Year of Humanistic Exchange 2025.

The ambassador said this marks the Vietnamese leader’s second visit to China so far this year, with the central objective of concretising common perceptions reached between high-ranking leaders of both Parties and countries on consolidating and elevating traditional neighbourly friendship, deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, and advancing the building of a Việt Nam–China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. These will be pursued through maintaining close high-level exchanges, strengthening political trust, and enhancing coordination across multilateral mechanisms, thereby reinforcing a solid foundation for cooperation across all fields, contributing to the relationship that is stable, sustainable, and forward-looking.

According to the ambassador, during the trip, Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping is expected to meet with PM Chính. The PM will also hold a series of meetings with senior Chinese leaders, ministers, and leading business groups and corporations.

The meetings are set to focus on major directions and measures to implement important common perceptions reached by the top leaders of the two Parties and countries, while improving the effectiveness of intergovernmental committees for cooperation, and stepping up bilateral ties and practical joint work in such key areas as economy-trade, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, education, tourism, health, and infrastructure connectivity. Both sides are also expected to push forward with existing agreements to deliver tangible benefits for the people of both nations.

In addition, PM Chính will meet with the Vietnamese community and students in China, demonstrating the Party’s and the State’s support for overseas Vietnamese while encouraging stronger people-to-people exchanges, particularly among the younger generation, thus further cementing mutual understanding and closer bonds between the two peoples and reinforcing the social foundations of the bilateral relations.

The ambassador expressed his confidence that, with a spirit of determination and proactive diplomacy, the PM's visit will be a resounding success and stand as a new highlight in the current flourishing stage of Việt Nam-China relations. — VNS