Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn (right) and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left). VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn made a phone call to Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday.

Sơn took the occasion to brief his Chinese counterpart on Việt Nam’s guideline for external relations defined at the 13th National Party Congress, under which Việt Nam consistently pursues an independent foreign policy for peace, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralisation, and comprehensive and in-depth international integration.  

The FM reiterated that maintaining and developing the traditional friendship and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China is always one of the top priorities in Việt Nam’s external policy.

FM Wang Yi affirmed that China attaches importance to promoting the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Việt Nam and congratulated Việt Nam on the success of the 13th National Party Congress and the 11th session of the 14th National Assembly, during which the country selected a new leadership and defined socio-economic development targets for the years ahead.

The two FMs shared the view that the two parties and countries’ relations continue to maintain a positive development trend, with regular exchanges and contacts at all levels held in flexible forms, and economic-trade cooperative growing despite the heavy impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries have shared medical supplies and experience in fighting the pandemic, and supported each other in times of natural disasters.

The two sides agreed to promote exchanges at high level and other levels, and invited each other to make mutual visit at an appropriate time for direct discussion. They also vowed to bring into full play the role of the Foreign Ministry in coordinating and promoting cooperation across the fields in bilateral ties towards a healthy and substantial growth of economic-trade relations, and maintain discussions on international and regional issues of mutual concern.

The two sides discussed sea-related issues in a sincere and straightforward manner and agreed to continue optimizing the role of existing negotiating mechanisms. Minister Son said that the two sides should handle disputes in the spirit of respecting each other’s legitimate rights and interests, bilateral agreements and common perception, and international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and work together with ASEAN to achieve positive progress regarding a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). – VNS