She noted that over the past 15 years following the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, the relations between the two Parties and two countries have been continuously expanded and deepened, achieving many positive and comprehensive progress in various fields.
Ha said the official visit to China by NA leader Vuong Dinh Hue is of extremely important significance as providing strategic direction for the bilateral relations and concretising high-level common perceptions and results achieved during the visit to China by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong in October 2022 and the visit to Vietnam by General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping in December 2023, with six major directions, especially strengthening higher political trust and consolidating stronger social foundation, contributing to elevating and deepening the Vietnam-China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership. The visit also affirms Vietnam’s consistent policy of considering the development of relations with China as a strategic choice and top priority in Vietnam's overall foreign policy.
According to the Deputy Head of the NA Committee for External Relations, in the context that the cooperation between Vietnamese NA and Chinese NPC has been constantly consolidated and developing, the visit contributes to elevating and deepening the relations between the two legislative agencies, making this relationship an important pillar in the overall relationship between the two Parties and the two States.
Over the past years, Vietnam-China ties have generally maintained good development momentum and achieved many important results. High-level exchanges and contacts have taken place closely, contributing to strengthening political trust and strategic orientation.
The import-export turnover between the two countries reached 172 billion USD in 2023. China is Vietnam's largest trading partner and largest import market. Meanwhile, Vietnam is China's 5th largest trading partner in the world and largest trading partner in ASEAN.
Following the very successful official visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (in November 2022) and the issuance of a joint statement on continuing to promote and deepen the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China, the General Secretary of the CPC and President Xi Jinping paid a State visit to Vietnam in December 2023. During the Chinese top leader’s visit last year, the two sides issued a joint statement on continuing to deepen and elevate the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries and building a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, as well as signed 36 cooperation documents in various fields, as the foundation for the stable, healthy, sustainable and long-term development of the bilateral relations between the two countries.
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Deputy Head of the NA Committee for External Relations Le Thu Ha |
Ha affirmed that in the overall effort to promote the “higher political trust”, the cooperation between Vietnamese NA and Chinese NPC has been continuously strengthened and developed in depth in recent years. The two sides’ leaders have maintained high-level exchanges and contacts in many flexible forms.
Notably, the first foreign activity of comrade Zhao Leji after he was elected as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC of China was the virtual talks with NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (in March 2023), discussing many major directions of cooperation for the relations between the two countries.
She said during this visit, the two sides will sign a new cooperation agreement to replace the cooperation agreement between the NA of Vietnam and the National People's Congress of China in 2015, with new connotations, such as the establishment of a parliamentary cooperation mechanism between the two countries; the enhancement of their cooperation in fostering and training elected representatives; and the improvement of the role of the NA and NPC and People's Councils at all levels in promoting bilateral relations.
The Deputy Head of the NA Committee for External Relations stressed that the signing of the agreement will be an important milestone in the history of the relations between the Vietnamese NA and Chinese NPC, aiming to create a legal basis to enhance the cooperation between the two legislative agencies, commensurate with the two countries' relationship.
Vietnam and China are two brotherly neighbours with many similarities in ideological foundation, the goal of building socialism, persevering in the leadership of the Communist Party, and striving for the interests and happiness of the people. Ha expressed her belief that through the Vietnamese top legislator’s visit, the two sides will continue effectively conducting existing cooperation mechanisms on Party and Government channels and social and political organisations. The two countries will also promote the potential for cooperation in all fields according to the six identified pillars with the focus on enhancing political trust, enhancing defence and security cooperation, accelerating strategic development connections, improving the effectiveness of practical cooperation, especially the economic-trade cooperation in a balanced, sustainable and high-quality manner and promoting friendly exchanges and building a good social foundation for bilateral relations.
Through the parliamentary diplomatic channel, with the new cooperation agreement signed between the Vietnamese NA and the Chinese NPC, the relationship between the two legislatures will be enhanced and deepened, making this relationship an important pillar in the overall relationship between the two Parties and the two States, she added.
Accordingly, the two sides will continue to enhance the exchange of delegations from the Vietnamese NA, the Chinese NPC and the People’s Councils at all levels. The delegations will enhance the exchange and sharing of professional experience on the activities of the NA and its affiliated agencies in perfecting the Party's leadership method towards the State, building a socialist rule of law state, perfecting policy and institutions on socio-economic development, ensuring defence and security, Party protection, environment and general contributions to the development of humanity, and enhancing the supervisory role of the two legislatures in implementing the cooperation agreements signed between the two countries.
According to Deputy Head of the NA Committee for External Relations Le Thu Ha, the two sides will continue to uphold the role of the NA/NPC’s delegates, especially the Vietnam-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Group, in propagating friendship, consolidating consensus, and building a good social foundation for the relations between the two countries. The two agencies will continue to coordinate and support each other at regional and world inter-parliamentary forums towards contributing to deepening and elevating the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, building a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, bringing the relationship between the two Parties and the two countries into a new stage, joining hands for healthy, stable, long-term development, and contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world.
