Takeaways from Xi Jinping's state visit to Vietnam

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Vietnam from December 12 to 13 marked a new milestone in the relationship between the two countries.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said the visit was a huge success with great historical significance.

During his visit, President Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, announced the decision to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, thus ushering in a new stage and injecting new impetus into China-Vietnam relations, said Wang.

The Chinese president said modernization, which includes the whole of China's more than 1.4 billion people, is a great opportunity brought by China to the world. China is willing to share opportunities and seek common development with its Vietnamese comrades, Wang added.

Xi said China is willing to work with Vietnam to strengthen multilateral cooperation, safeguard true multilateralism and defend the global free trade system to build a global industrial and supply chain system that is secure, stable, smooth, efficient, open, inclusive and mutually beneficial, Wang noted.

The foreign minister also said both heads of state stressed the importance of people-to-people friendship between China and Vietnam and vowed to build more bridges for exchange between the two peoples, especially between the younger generation, to deepen mutual understanding and friendship.

The foundation of China-Vietnam friendship lies among the two peoples, and the future of this friendship will be created by the young people, Xi told youth representatives from both countries and people who have contributed to China-Vietnam friendship in Hanoi on Wednesday.

New outcomes of pragmatic cooperation

China and Vietnam have signed over 30 cooperation agreements during the visit, including Belt and Road cooperation, digital economy, green development and maritime cooperation, according to Wang.

Both sides also issued a joint statement on further deepening and elevating their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

In the statement, China and Vietnam agreed to take concrete measures to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner.

China will actively promote access procedures for Vietnamese agricultural products, including fresh coconuts, frozen fruit products, oranges, avocados, other fresh fruits, medicinal plants and meat products. Meanwhile, Vietnam will actively promote the import of Chinese sturgeon.