(VOVworld) – Before his state-level visit to China from June 19th to 21st, President Truong Tan Sang granted an exclusive interview to Chinese correspondents in Hanoi on a range of issues, from prospects of the two nations’ relations to economic and trade potentials, and the way to deal with sea issues between the two countries. VOV brings you the core of the interview.
President Truong Tan Sang arrives in Beijing, China on Jun 19 |
Regarding the current relationship between China and Vietnam, President Sang said that as close neighboring countries, Vietnam and China have a long-standing traditional friendship. The Party, State and people of Vietnam consistently works at developing a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. Over the past years, thanks to the two sides’ common efforts, the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership has developed and strengthened, making important contributions to advancements in each country. The many visits, meetings and talks between the two countries’ leaders attest to the regularity of political exchange. The two sides’ cooperation in economics, trade, investment and tourism sees new developments. Cooperation between their ministries and agencies, and the exchange between localities and mass organizations, as well as cooperation in the fields of culture, sports, arts, education and training are increasingly growing both in width and depth.
In March, Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping held a very important talk via telephone, in which they outlined means for strengthening relations between the two Parties and countries. At the 6th session of the Steering Committee for Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation in May 2013, the two sides reached many concrete agreements that aim to boost bilateral cooperation in many sectors.
In order to further foster the friendly relations between the two countries, President Sang said the two sides should collaborate to fulfill some tasks, namely increasing political trust in which the growing exchanges and contacts between the two sides’ leaders, ministries, agencies and localities play a crucial role. Leaders of the two countries should carry out regular visits, meetings and exchanges under flexible and diverse forms. It is important to strengthen and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in every sector, especially economics, trade, investment, science and technology, education and training, and tourism. The two sides should continuously bring into play the traditional friendship between the two nations, diversify people-to-people exchanges, and insist on peaceful measures and friendly consultation in handling disagreements.
When talking about two-way trade between Vietnam and China, President Sang said the two countries should make more efforts to seek orientations and efficient measures to boost mutually beneficial cooperation. In the short-term, the two countries should well implement signed agreements, including the five-year plan for the Vietnam-China economic and trade cooperation for the 2012-2016 period, in order to have more sustainable and balanced two-way trade, contributing to further developing the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership.
With regard to sea issues between Vietnam and China, President Sang said the two countries have demonstrated effort and gained precious experience in dealing with tense and complicated issues concerning the two sides’ relations. Most remarkably, the two countries have fulfilled land border and Tonkin Gulf demarcation. With such a spirit, leaders of the two countries have exchanged opinions in a sincere and straightforward manner many times and they have reached important perceptions on how to resolve the East Sea issue. During General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to China in October 2011, the two countries signed an agreement on fundamental principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues between Vietnam and China. They agreed to comply strictly with the common perception of the two sides’ senior leaders, patiently resolving the East Sea issue by peaceful means based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the East Sea (DOC).
President Sang said in the future, senior leaders of the two countries should maintain regular exchanges and dialogue, and from the strategic height and friendly relations between the two countries, instruct and drive the resolution of the East Sea issue by peaceful means.
Sang said Vietnam and China need to further reform to identify, and overcome challenges in socio-economic development including the gap between the rich and the poor, climate change, and resilient growth. In addition to effort of each country, Vietnam and China continue to build together fine cooperative relations, which will generate more opportunities for each country’s development and to turn their targets of peace and prosperity in to reality.