Vietnam-China diplomatic ties marked in Beijing
The 65th founding
anniversary of Vietnam-China diplomatic ties was celebrated in Beijing
on January 15.
The event was jointly organised
by the Vietnamese Embassy in China and the Chinese People’s
Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).
Ambassador Nguyen Van Tho highlighted the traditional neighbourliness
and friendship between Vietnam and China, which were established
by late Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong and then nurtured by
generations of the two countries’ leaders.
Such
bilateral relationship is for the fundamental interests of the two
peoples as well as for peace, cooperation and development, he said.
He stressed that despite difficulties and challenges over the past
year, the Vietnam-China relations have enjoyed fresh development in
various fields.
Via high-level phone talks and
meetings, the two sides have reached important common perceptions on
restoring and maintaining their relationship in a stable manner,
increasing mutual trust, expanding and deepening the bilateral
comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership, contributing to peace,
stability and cooperation in the region and beyond, Tho said.
He reiterated that Vietnam always attaches importance to developing
its comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China,
regarding it as one of the consistent and long-term strategic priorities
of the country.
Turning to the East Sea
issue, the ambassador said he believes that if the two countries
consistently pursue peaceful means and friendly negotiations on the
basis of equality, mutual respect and international law, they will
gradually find out an appropriate solution to the issue.
In 2014, two-way trade between Vietnam and China was estimated
at 58.5 billion USD, up 16 percent against the previous year. Vietnam
was the second biggest trade partner of China in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while China remained Vietnam’s 9th
largest investor with a total registered capital of 7.9 billion USD.-VNA