Vietnam, China issue joint statement

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam and China issued a Joint Statement on the occasion of the State visit to Vietnam by Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping from November 5-6 at the invitation of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Truong Tan Sang. 

The Joint Statement said that during the visit, Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping held talks with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Truong Tan Sang, and had meetings with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung. 

In an atmosphere of friendship, sincerity and frankness, leaders of the two Parties and States discussed in depth and reached important common perceptions on means and ways to deepen the co-operation between the two Parties and the two countries, and on regional and international issues of shared concern. 

The two sides agreed that the visit was a success, contributing greatly to cementing the traditional friendship, deepening the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership, and promoting peace, stability and development in the region and the world. 

The two sides were delighted with historical and immense achievements recorded by each country in socialism-building in conformity with the respective countries’ situations, and agreed to increase exchanges and consult each other’s experience, helping speed up Vietnam’s Doi Moi (renewal) and China’s reform and door-opening process, and create new impulses for each country’s socialism-building. 

The Vietnamese side delivered sincere wishes and belief that the Chinese people, led by the Communist Party of China, will promote the harmonious construction of a well-off society, accelerate comprehensive reforms, manage the country fully by law, manage the Party in a stringent manner, and achieve the goal of building a modern socialist country with wealth, democracy, civilisation and harmony. 

The Chinese side hoped the Communist Party of Vietnam would successfully organise its 12 th National Congress in early 2016, noting its belief that the Vietnamese people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, will fulfill their set goals, turning Vietnam into a socialist, strong, democratic, fair and civilised country with wealthy people. 

Reviewing the ties between the two Parties and countries over the past 65 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two sides agreed that their friendship, founded and fostered by President Ho Chi Minh, President Mao Zedong and other leaders, is a valuable common asset of the Vietnamese and Chinese people, and needs to be preserved, passed on and promoted. 

They agreed to stringently follow the motto “friendly neighbours, comprehensive co-operation, long-term stability and looking towards the future” and uphold the spirit of “good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good partners”, thoroughly grasp the sound development orientations of the Vietnam-China relationship; strengthen political trust; accelerate co-operation across sectors on the basis of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit; manage and properly solve disputes; and step up the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership in a stable, healthy fashion. 

The two sides shared the view that maintaining regular high-level contacts between the two Parties and States is important to strengthen political trust and develop bilateral relations. They agreed to keep high-level contact on a regular basis by making visits, sending Special Envoys, talking on the hotline, organising annual meetings, and holding meetings on the sidelines of multilateral forums to promptly exchange views on important issues arising in the relations between the two Parties and countries. 

The two sides noted that Vietnam and China are currently in an important socio-economic development phase, and each country takes on the other’s growth as its development opportunities. They agreed to bring into full play the overall co-ordinating role played by the Steering Committee for Vietnam-China co-operation with a focus on the following domains: 

- Efficiently implementing the co-operation plan between the two Parties and deepening co-operative exchange activities between central and local Party units, especially those in localities sharing border; continuing to productively organise theoretical workshops and carry out the personnel training programme for the two Parties in 2016-2020 that was inked during the visit; actively accelerating the exchange of co-operation and friendship between the Vietnam National Assembly and the National People’s Congress of China, and between the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; and increasing friendly exchanges between the two countries’ people. 

- Implementing the protocol on co-operation between the two Foreign Ministries, maintaining regular exchanges between ministry leaders, continuing to organise annual diplomatic consultations, boosting exchanges between respective departments and carrying out training for the two ministries’ personnel. The Vietnamese side stands ready to facilitate China’s establishment of a consulate general in Da Nang, Vietnam. 

-Maintaining high-level exchanges between the two armies and making the best use of the mechanisms of defence strategic dialogue, friendly exchanges between Vietnamese and Chinese border defence forces and a direct telephone line between the two Defence Ministries; boosting relations and co-operation between the two armies in the realms of friendly exchanges of border guards, personnel training, military theory research, joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin and visits by naval ships; sharing in-depth experience in UN peacekeeping activities, as well as Party and political affairs in the army; enhancing collaboration in law enforcement at sea between the two countries’ maritime police; working together to maintain peace and stability in the Gulf of Tonkin; pushing for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnam Maritime Police Command and the China Maritime Police Department. Deepening connections in security and law enforcement, continuing to hold joint conferences on crime prevention and combat between the two Ministries of Public Security and the strategic security dialogue at deputy ministerial level between the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam and the China Ministry of National Security; stepping up co-operation in the fight against terrorism, drug crimes, and telecom swindling; entry and exit and border management; cyber security; sharing experience in security maintenance; co-ordinating to investigate and hunt for fugitive criminals; and preventing illegal labourers, among others. 

- Enhancing the connectivity of development strategies between the two countries; promoting the connectivity between the framework of “two corridors, one belt” and the initiative “one belt, one road”; boosting co-operation in production capacity in the fields of building materials, support industry, machinery and equipment, power, renewable energy and others; quickly establishing working groups while working closely towards signing a master plan to build a cross-border economic co-operation zone; accelerating the construction of the Long Giang Industrial Zone in Tien Giang province and An Duong Industrial Zone in Hai Phong, Vietnam together with attracting investments into the zones; directing the two countries’ businesses to implement co-operation projects on metallurgy and nitrogenous fertilizers with Chinese contractors. 

Deploying the Vietnam-China economic-commerce co-operation committee mechanism; actively studying the re-signing of the “five-year development planning on Vietnam-China economic and trade co-operation”; urgently amending the “Vietnam-China border trade agreement”; developing two-way trade in a balanced, solid and durable manner; striving for a two-way trade value of 100 billion USD by 2017; speeding up co-operation within the framework of the “memorandum of understanding on co-operation in the trade of farm produce”; encouraging the two countries’ businesses to expand trade in farm produce; and welcoming relevant agencies and localities to discuss the establishment of trade promotion agencies. 

Enhancing the role of the working group on infrastructure and the working group on monetary co-operation and pressing ahead the co-operation in related fields; implementing the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project; quickly establishing plans for the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong high-speed railway route; and promoting infrastructural connectivity, such as the Mong Cai-Van Don expressway. 

Deepening customs co-operation, working together to counter cross-border smuggling, continuing seeking co-operative measures to facilitate customs clearance, and building and managing infrastructural facilities to increase the co-operation and openness at border gate areas between the two countries. 

-Broadening co-operation in science-technology, education, culture, tourism and press, among others. Making the best use of the mechanism of the joint committee on scientific and technological co-operation, actively enhancing co-operation in technology transfer and exchanges between scientists, and discussing the building of a joint laboratory. Making efforts to complete the construction of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace for use by 2017, establish a cultural centre of each country in the other country as soon as possible, and effectively running the Confucianism Institute at Hanoi University. Boosting press exchanges and communication activities on the Vietnam-China friendship. Organising the Vietnamese-Chinese Youth Friendship Meeting, the People’s Forum, and the third Vietnam-China Youth Festival in Vietnam in 2016. 

The two sides agreed to promote the role of the joint committee on Vietnam-China land borders, implement the agreement on free travel of ships at the mouth of the Bac Luan River and the agreement on co-operation in protecting and exploiting tourism resources of the Ban Gioc Waterfall which was signed during the visit. They consented to review the five years of the implementation of the three documents on land border management between the two countries and increase co-ordination between border localities, promoting the development of the two countries’ border areas. 

The two sides candidly discussed the sea issue, stressing the strict adherence to important common perceptions reached between senior leaders of the two Parties and States, the full implementation of the Vietnam-China agreement on principles guiding the settlement of sea issues. They also emphasised using the government-level negotiating mechanism on the two countries’ border and territories, while seeking basic, long-term solutions acceptable for both sides through consultations and negotiations and making positive deliberations on transitional measures that do not affect each side’s stance and policies, including research and discussion on co-operation for development. 

The two sides announced they would launch joint field surveys in the area off the mouth of the Tonkin Gulf in mid-December, saying that this is an important initial step for both sides to carry out co-operation at sea, accelerate negotiations on demarcating the area off the mouth of the Tonkin Gulf and promote co-operation for development in the waters. They agreed to increase the intensity of talks of the expert-level working group on the area off the mouth of the Tonkin Gulf while continuing to promote the efforts of the working group on co-operation for development at sea and step up partnership in less sensitive areas. They also announced the start of a co-operation project on comparative study on Holocene sediments in the Red River Delta and the Chang Jiang River Delta. 

The two sides consented to jointly control disputes at sea, fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), push for the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) on the basis of consultations, and avoid actions that would further complicate the situation and expand dispute while swiftly, properly dealing with arising issues, for the sake of peace and stability in the East Sea and Vietnam-China relations. 

The Vietnamese side affirmed its consistent one-China policy and support of the cross-Strait relationship’s peaceful development, as well as China’s unification cause, and resolutely protested activities for Taiwan independence under any forms. Vietnam does not develop any official ties with Taiwan. The Chinese side expressed its welcome to Vietnam’s stance. 

The two sides agreed to enhance co-ordination in multilateral frameworks such as the UN, the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum and ASEAN-China, work together to maintain, protect and promote peace, prosperity and development in the world. The Chinese side supported Vietnam’s hosting of the 2017 APEC Summit. 

During the visit, the two sides signed a number of co-operation documents and agreements, including a co-operation plan on training personnel of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Communist Party of China from 2016-2020. 

The two Governments signed an agreement on the travel of vessels in the free navigation area at the mouth of the Bac Luan River, a co-operation agreement on protecting and tapping tourism resources of Ban Gioc Waterfall, and an agreement on the establishment of a Vietnamese cultural centre in China and vice versa, and exchanged a diplomatic note on the possibility of the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong railway.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and China’s National Development and Reform Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on boosting production capacity co-operation, while an MoU on the optimisation of the design of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace project was reached between the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. 

The Quang Ninh provincial Party Committee and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Party Committee reached an agreement on holding friendship exchanges between their local Party units. A similar document was also signed by the Lao Cai provincial Party Committee and the Yunnan provincial Party Committee.-VNA