BEIJING — A high-ranking Vietnamese military delegation led by Defence Minister General Ngô Xuân Lịch visited China from October 26-28 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Sen. Lieut. Gen. Wei Fenghe.

While in China, Lịch, who is also a Politburo member and Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, met with Xu Quiliang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China.

Xu thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence for its support participation in the eighth Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which lasted from October 24 to 26.

Praised Lịch’s speech at the forum, the host said Việt Nam’s participation contributed to the success of the event.

Xu used the occasion to congratulate General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng on his election as State President.

He affirmed China attaches importance to its partnership with Việt Nam, and will make all-out efforts to preserve, consolidate and develop the relationship, for the interests of the two countries’ people.

He described the bilateral defence ties as a model of the Việt Nam-China relationship, stressing China’s Central Military Commission stands ready to share its experience in army building with Việt Nam.

For his part, Lich thanked China for its support for Việt Nam in the past national liberation and the present cause of national construction.

Việt Nam always wishes to develop the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in a sustainable fashion and considers it a top foreign policy priority, he noted.

Echoing Xu’s view on the fine defence cooperation, Lịch said the collaboration is an important pillar of Việt Nam-China relations.

Host and guest agreed that both sides should observe agreements reached by senior leaders, especially the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues, in order to avoid conflicts and handle disputes peacefully on the basis of respect for legitimate rights of each other in line with international law.

Armies must lead these efforts, they said, calling for timely information exchange and joint efforts to deal with emerging incidents and prevent them from affecting the bilateral ties.

On Saturday afternoon, Defence Minister Lịch held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wei, who described the Vietnamese delegation’s China visit and attendance at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum as vivid manifestation of friendship between the two Parties, States and armies.

China wants to maintain and promote the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership, including in defence ties, he reiterated.

Lịch applauded the eighth Beijing Xiangshan Forum organised by the Chinese Defence Ministry, while emphasising that Việt Nam places importance on ties with China and considers the country a leading partner.

The visit aims to affirm the political trust and implement common perceptions reached by senior leaders of the two countries, contributing to enhancing cooperation between the two countries.

The ministers informed each other about the socio-economic situation in their country.

Regarding defence ties, they noted high-level meetings, exchanges between young officers, joint training and patrols and UN peacekeeping operations, particularly links between military doctors of the two countries in providing healthcare for residents living along the common border line.

Both sides held that the defence ties should continue to be a pillar of relations between the Parties and States, and the collaboration should be stepped up to bring about pragmatic outcomes.

They agreed to continue to fully implement the joint vision on defence cooperation with a focus on high-level meetings, maintain the defence strategic dialogue mechanism, bring into full play hotlines, maintain joint fishery patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin between naval forces and coastguards of the two countries, join hands in training and work on defence industry collaboration.

The two sides will also share experience in army building, particularly Party work and political affairs; step up affiliation in communications, helping Vietnamese and Chinese people understand more about bilateral relations; thwart plots of hostile forces that aim to take advantage of limitations to undermine the relationship; and collaborate in UN peacekeeping operations.

They will consult and support each other at multilateral forums to preserve peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

Wei stressed that China is willing to work with Việt Nam to help the country successfully assume the ASEAN Chair in 2020, and raise initiatives to promote the ASEAN-China relationship.

Meanwhile, Lịch said Việt Nam supports China in dealing with global issues, especially in consolidating peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

During his stay in China, Minister Lịch visited families of Chinese experts and advisors who helped Việt Nam in national safeguarding in the past, the PLA National Defence University and a Chinese military unit. — VNS