China attaches importance to and wants to enhance friendship and cooperation with the Vietnamese Party, State and people, said Chinese Vice State President Xi Jinping.
Vice President Xi, who is also Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Military Commission, made the statement while receiving Director of the General Politics Department of the Vietnam People's Army Lieutenant General Ngo Xuan Lich in Beijing on Sept. 16.
He recalled that State President Hu Jintao sent a special envoy to Vietnam to meet Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong immediately after Vietnam successfully organised the 11th National Party Congress which manifested China’s wish to increase the solidarity and friendship between the two Parties and two States.
He said both Vietnam and China respect the comradeship and brotherhood between the two countries that has been fostered by President Ho Chi Minh and President Mao Zedong as well as the previous generations.
Xi went on to say that the China-Vietnam friendship and solidarity run deep and both sides have effectively assisted each other. Since the two countries normalised their relationship in 1991, the friendly neighbouring relationship and mutually beneficial cooperation under the 16 word motto and four good spirit have been strongly developed, yielding many results in politics, economics, culture, security and defence and other fields.
The two sides have successfully settled the border demarcation and marker planting along their land border as well as the deliminatation in the Tonkin Gulf, thus bringing practical benefits to the two peoples, Xi said.
He said the relationship between the two armies, a section in the two countries’ relations, has also developed favourably.
Despite disputes in the East Sea, friendly neighbourliness and cooperation remain the main current in the Vietnam-China relations, Vice President Xi stressed.
He went on to say that China attaches importance to the development of relationship with Vietnam, through promoting high-ranking contacts and exchanges, and boosting cooperation activities between the two armies.
Due to recent differences and disputes in the East Sea, the two countries’ relations are facing temporary difficulties but the two Parties and States’ leaders firmly believe that both sides will find solutions to satisfactorily resolve this issue, he said.
For his part, Lieut. Gen. Lich, who is also Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission, conveyed best regards from Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to Chinese Party and State leaders.
Lich said he was delighted at China’s recent impressive achievements in national construction.
He took the occasion to reaffirm the stance of the Vietnamese Party, State and People’s Army on resolving disputes in the East Sea.
He said he believed that with high determination and in the spirit of comradeship and brotherhood, the two Parties and States’ leaders will be able to settle the disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law.
The two armies must play an exemplary and major role in developing the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between Vietnam and China, said Lich.
