The leaders consented to step up exchanges, coordination and efforts to advance the bilateral relations to a new development period, pledging to will direct ministries and localities in their respective countries to realise major common perceptions reached by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping, particularly the joint statement on continuing to enhance and deepen the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership issued in November 2022.
The two sides will also increase all-level contacts and strengthen cooperation in various fields, especially in economy and trade links, while intensifying friendship between localities and people's organisations.
They will maintain the friendly cooperation mechanism between the ministries of national defence, and the ministries of public security of the two countries, continue to implement the three legal documents on land border issues, timely discuss and handle emerging issues in joint efforts to build a shared border of peace, stability, cooperation and development.
PM Chinh suggested the two sides actively study measures to maintain smooth trade, raise the capacity and efficiency of customs clearance, and strengthen connectivity of road, rail, sea, and air infrastructure.
He also proposed China continue facilitating trade, expand the import of goods, accelerate market opening for Vietnamese agricultural products, increase the quota for Vietnamese goods transiting through its railway to a third country and create favourable conditions for Vietnam to open more trade promotion offices in China.
The Vietnamese PM welcomed China’s investment in large-scale, high-quality, and new technology projects in Vietnam, saying the two sides should work harder to remove prolonged problems in some cooperation projects such as the second-phase expansion of the Thai Nguyen iron and steel plant, effectively cooperate in tourism and make greater efforts to promote people-to-people cooperation and exchanges.
PM Li expressed his appreciation and agreement with PM Chinh's suggestions regarding cooperation areas, and affirmed that China supports Vietnam's cause of national industrialisation and modernisation, and raising of its international role.
China stands ready to open its market to Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural products, and to cooperate with Vietnam in resolving the stagnant cooperation projects, the Chinese government leader said.
He suggested the two sides strengthen strategic connectivity and assist each other in transport infrastructure connectivity, foster cooperation in economy, trade and investment, particularly in manufacturing and agriculture, and work together to maintain supply and production chains.
Li also affirmed that China will promote people-to-people exchange, facilitate travel of citizens of the two countries, and restore tourism cooperation.
Both noted with pleasure positive developments in the relations between the two Parties and countries over the recent past, especially after the visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in late October 2022, and shared the view that the relations are entering a new development phase with many opportunities and advantages.
PM Chinh congratulated the Chinese side on the successes of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2022 and the first session of the 14th National People's Congress in March 2023, and congratulated Li on his election as Premier of the State Council of China.
He wished China greater successes in the journey to build a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful, with an increasingly high international status and active contributions to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Both held that the traditional friendship that is both "comradeship and brotherhood" between Vietnam and China, founded and nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh, Chairman Mao Zedong, and generations of leaders of the two countries, is a precious asset shared by the two Parties and two countries, and it needs to be constantly inherited, protected, and promoted.
They stressed the importance of the bilateral relationship for the development of each country as well as for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world at large.
Regarding maritime issues, both sides concurred to make joint efforts to maintain peace and stability, and settle the issues satisfactorily in the spirit of high-level common perceptions and the Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues between Vietnam and China.
PM Chinh stressed that the two sides should effectively utilise negotiation mechanisms on demarcation and cooperation at sea, strive for progress in a step-by-step manner, settle disputes and disagreements through peaceful means in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea/South China Sea (DOC), and strive to build a substantive, effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.
