Beijing (VNA) – The just-concluded state visit by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam to China reflects the current very good friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and China, according to Chinese experts and scholars.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Prof. Dr. Cheng Hanping, Director of the Vietnam Research Centre at the Zhejiang University of Technology, said this is an important visit that connects the past and the future, and it will undoubtedly leave a hallmark in the history of China-Vietnam relations.
The Vietnamese top leader’s visit from August 18-20 shows that the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the Vietnamese Government, and the Vietnamese people are attaching great importance to China, and underscores the recognition that China is a priority diplomatic direction, he said.
The visit also signifies that as socialist countries led by communist Parties, Vietnam and China must steadfastly hold high the banner of socialism, and build a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance through practical actions, the scholar said.
The two sides can engage in extensive exchanges and cooperation on state governance issues and learn from each other's experiences.
During the visit, the two countries signed a total of 14 cooperation agreements, demonstrating that their bilateral cooperation is very substantive and resulting in mutually beneficial outcomes, Cheng said.
The high-ranking leaders of China and Vietnam have outlined the future direction of the bilateral relations to ensure that their peoples can maintain their friendship from one generation to the next and keep this friendship deeply rooted among their people.
Under the joint planning by Lam and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the China-Vietnam relationship will continue to develop in friendship in the future, reflecting in "hard connectivity" in infrastructure and "soft connectivity" among the peoples.
Sharing Cheng’s opinion, Prof. Miliang, Director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies and Dean of the Law School of Beijing Foreign Studies University, also said that Lam's first foreign trip as the new top leader of the CPV and Vietnam holds significant importance for both countries.
The relationship between the two Parties is a crucial pillar of the bilateral relations, he said, noting that during the visit, the two leaders had a direct exchange of ideas, establishing a good working relationship and friendship, and laying a foundation for stable development of the relationship between the two sides in the future.
Representing both the CPV and the Vietnamese State, Lam had in-depth discussions with his Chinese counterpart on promoting the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and the two sides reached new consensus on building a community with a shared future. These agreements will lay a foundation for the future relationship between the two countries, the scholar said.
The Vietnamese leader’s successful visit to China shows that the overall situation of the China-Vietnam friendship remains unchanged, he stressed, noting that Lam will continue the policy towards China of late Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and further promote the relations between the two Parties and countries for the benefit of their peoples./.
