Hang talked to reporters at a press conference in Hanoi on Thursday about Vietnam’s reaction to the US State Department’s 2019 Report on Religious Freedom: “We acknowledged the US State Department’s reports on Vietnam’s achievements and progress in promoting the religious life in the country. But the 2019 Report on Religious Freedom of the US Department of State still has inaccurate, unverified information about the situation in Vietnam. Vietnam continues to maintain and strengthen cooperation and exchanges with the US over the issues of mutual concern in a frank, open, and mutual-respect manner, through bilateral dialogues including the annual human rights dialogue, in order to boost the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.”

Hang said the US Department of Commerce’s investigation in to Vietnamese plywood products needs to be considered objectively and equally in line with the regulations of WTO and international economic practices as well as the fine trade relations between the two countries to ensure legitimate interests of the two countries’ enterprises and consumers. Hang said Vietnam aims to pursue to harmonious, sustainable trade ties with the US for mutual benefit.