As two socialist countries under the leadership of communist parties, China and Vietnam "share the same political direction, highly complementary economies and broad prospects for cooperation", Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said on Thursday.

Wang, who is in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital for a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meetings, made the remarks when meeting with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.

China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with the Vietnamese side, consolidate strategic mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, promote people-to-people exchanges, and increase the participation of the people of the two countries, especially the younger generation, in China-Vietnam friendship and cooperation, Wang added.

Noting that the two countries intensified high-level interactions on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Wang said that the two sides reaffirmed the importance and priority of bilateral ties in their respective foreign policies and emphasized the need to strengthen the high-quality joint construction of "the Belt and Road", which has enriched the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership under the new circumstances.

The two sides should join hands to pursue their respective paths of modernization, strengthen the docking of development strategies, promote infrastructure connectivity and enhance the level of trade and investment facilitation, Wang emphasized. 

Wang then said that the two countries should follow the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties on the proper handling of maritime issues, pay more attention to mutually beneficial cooperation, and play the role of existing mechanisms to provide stable expectations for the development of China-Vietnam relations.

China is willing to work with ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, to promote the early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, Wang said.

For his part, Bui Thanh Son said that the Vietnamese side highly valued the results of the development of relations between the two sides and looked forward to close high-level exchanges between the two sides, strengthening high-level strategic dialogues and effectively implementing the important consensus of the top leaders of the two parties.

It will fully cooperate with the Chinese side in the hope of expanding exports to China and will actively participate in the China-ASEAN Expo and China International Import Expo, Bui Thanh Son noted. 

(Cover photo: A China-Vietnam cross-border train departs from Nanning International Railway Port, November 2, 2022. /Xinhua via China Railway Nanning Bureau Group)