Vietnam’s Top Leader To Lam Commences Landmark State Visit to China
To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President of Vietnam, arrived in south China’s Guangzhou City on Sunday morning, marking the start of a significant three-day state visit to China.
This trip is To Lam’s first international visit since his election as General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee on August 3 and his appointment as President of Vietnam in May 2024. The choice of China as his inaugural destination underscores the importance Vietnam places on strengthening ties with its neighboring giant.
During his visit, To Lam is scheduled to hold talks with Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China. Additionally, he will meet with Premier Li Qiang, top legislator Zhao Leji, and top political advisor Wang Huning, highlighting the high-level engagement between the two nations.
Deepening Bilateral Relations
A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry remarked that To Lam’s decision to visit China first “fully demonstrates the great importance Vietnam’s top leader attaches to the relations between the two parties and the two countries.” The visit is seen as an opportunity to enhance the traditional friendship and to deepen the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future.
China expressed its willingness to work with Vietnam to achieve success on their respective socialist paths toward modernization. Both nations aim to jointly advance the global socialist cause and contribute to regional and global peace, stability, and development.
Building a Community with a Shared Future
In December 2023, Xi Jinping paid a historic state visit to Vietnam, during which the two sides announced the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future carrying strategic significance. This initiative aligns with the modernization needs of both countries and is conducive to maintaining regional peace and stability.
During a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in June, Xi emphasized the importance of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. He noted that both countries have maintained rapid economic development and long-term social stability, demonstrating the strengths of the socialist system.
Xi called for both sides to focus on six major goals: greater political mutual trust, more substantive security cooperation, deeper practical cooperation, a more solid popular foundation, closer multilateral coordination, and proper management of differences. He added that China is ready to join hands with Vietnam to march toward modernization and make greater contributions to world peace, stability, development, and prosperity.
Enhancing Belt and Road Cooperation
High on the agenda is the promotion of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Xi called on both nations to maintain high-level exchanges, enhance connectivity, and promote the high-quality development of practical cooperation. China expressed its willingness to encourage more Chinese enterprises to increase investment in Vietnam and hopes for a fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.
China has remained Vietnam’s top trading partner for many years, while Vietnam is China’s top trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China’s fourth-largest trading partner globally. Bilateral trade between Vietnam and China saw strong performance in the first half of the year, registering $95 billion in volume, with expectations to reach $200 billion by year-end if the trend continues.
Freight trains between China and Vietnam have played an increasingly important role in bilateral trade and economic cooperation. The rail service now connects several major Chinese cities with Vietnam, facilitating the swift movement of goods. In the first seven months of 2024, over 6,850 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers were shipped on China-Vietnam freight trains departing from Guangxi, marking a 16-fold increase year on year.
Looking Forward to Strengthened Cooperation
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son expressed hope that To Lam’s state visit will bring new progress in practical bilateral cooperation, especially in areas such as railroad connectivity, trade in agricultural products, high-quality investment, currency and finance, culture and tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
Calling the visit “a particularly important diplomatic event” for Vietnam-China relations, Son said it would have a far-reaching effect on the future development of relations between the two parties and the two countries. He emphasized that the visit demonstrates the high importance and top priority both sides place on building a Vietnam-China community with a shared future.
“The visit will be a complete success, become a new milestone, and open up a new chapter in the two sides’ good-neighborliness and friendship, comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and the building of a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance,” said the Vietnamese foreign minister.
Reference(s):
What to expect from Vietnam's top leader To Lam's state visit to China
cgtn.com
