Vietnam and China Ink 36 Agreement Documents for Collaborative Initiatives

Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping oversaw the signing of 36 cooperation agreements spanning various domains, including security and railway development, on Tuesday.

During a dialogue at the Party Central Committee Headquarters in Hanoi, Trong warmly welcomed Xi and his spouse Peng Liyuan on their state visit to Vietnam from Tuesday to Wednesday, as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

Following the high-level dialogue, Trong and Xi were briefed on the 36 agreement documents for cooperation, which were signed between ministries and localities of the two countries.

Among these documents, four pertained to politics and foreign affairs, signed between the Party and foreign affairs ministries of both nations. Four others addressed security and defense, crime prevention, maritime cooperation, and judiciary. Twenty-four documents covered cooperation at government and ministry levels, while four concerned collaboration between the two countries’ localities.

Trong emphasized that Xi’s third visit to Vietnam as China’s Party General Secretary and president coincided with the 15th anniversary of the establishment of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This underscored Xi’s special regard for the friendly tradition between the two countries and the significant potential of their bilateral relations.

Trong believed the visit would be a significant milestone elevating relations between the two Parties and countries to new heights, in line with the aspirations and mutual interests of both nations, contributing to regional and global peace, cooperation, and development.

Both Trong and Xi concurred that 15 years after establishing their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2008, cooperation across various fields has made positive and comprehensive strides, with continual expansion and deepening of relations between the two Parties and countries.

China has been Vietnam’s largest trade partner for several consecutive years, while Vietnam holds the same status for China within ASEAN. Bilateral trade between the nations amounted to US$175.6 billion last year, with Vietnam’s exports totaling $57.7 billion and imports reaching $117.87 billion, according to Vietnam Customs.

As of October 20, China ranked sixth among 143 countries and territories in FDI in Vietnam, boasting 4,105 active projects and a total registered capital exceeding $26.5 billion.