Addressing the ceremony, Nguyen Manh Dung, Standing Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Central Committee (HCYUCC), hailed the Vietnam-China friendship, which was nurtured by Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong, together with generations of revolutionaries, leaders and people from the two countries, as a valuable common asset.
He said that the bilateral comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership had overcome a variety of challenges to achieve much in various fields, including youth collaboration.
The co-operation and friendship between Vietnamese and Chinese youths had been deepened pragmatically, contributing to fostering the relationship between the two countries, Dung noted.
He added that the youth festival had contributed to enhancing mutual understanding and trust, serving as a bridge of friendship in the people-to-people diplomacy between the two countries.
Wang Hongyan, Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, stressed that the Chinese Party and Government attached importance to the friendship and co-operation between the young people of the two countries.
According to the official, Chinese delegates to the festival were outstanding representatives of sectors like politics, economy, education, communications, science, technology and culture.
The festival would give young Chinese young a chance to learn about Vietnam’s rich history and culture and to witness the achievements of Vietnam’s 30-year Renewal process, he said.
The two sides will also learn about the history of the long-standing friendship between their two countries, while will contribute to developing the comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership in the time ahead.
The festival’s major activities will take place in the Vietnamese provinces of Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh, Ninh Binh, Phu Tho and Lao Cai with a focus on youth’s role in environmental protection, sustainable development, the preservation of culture, the development of tourism and socioe-conomic development.
After participating in activities in other locales, the 1,000 Chinese delegates will join their peers in Hanoi for a closing ceremony.
The first Vietnam-China Youth Festival was organised in the Chinese province of Guangxi in August 2010, and the second took place in the Zhuang Autonomous Region in Guangxi in November 2013.
