Xi's visit to bring more opportunities for China-Vietnam cooperation

China-Vietnam relations have achieved a new milestone as the two countries agreed to build a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, charting a promising path for their closer cooperation.

The announcement was made during the recent state visit to Vietnam by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president. 

The decision has brought China-Vietnam relations to a new historical starting point and will push bilateral ties to a new level, Xi said.

He also said that China-Vietnam ties will enter a new stage of greater political mutual trust, more solid security cooperation, deeper mutually beneficial cooperation, stronger popular support, closer multilateral coordination and better handling of differences.

The two countries are marking the 15th anniversary of establishing a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership this year. Dao Ngoc Bau, deputy director of the Institute of International Relations under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, told Xinhua News Agency that over the past 15 years, Vietnam and China have made substantial progress in cooperation in various fields, laying a solid foundation for both sides to push bilateral relations into a new stage.

The just-concluded trip was Xi's third state visit to Vietnam since he became general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese president. During his first state visit in 2015, the two countries signed a slew of agreements and plans to boost communication among local governments and organizations and facilitate cooperation in infrastructure and tourism.

In the joint statement released on Wednesday, China and Vietnam agreed to upgrade practical cooperation in fields such as infrastructure, investment in industries, trade, agriculture, finance and currency.

The two countries agreed to implement well the cooperation plan of building the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Vietnam's "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle", promoting the construction of major border infrastructure projects and encouraging businesses of both countries to cooperate in areas of road infrastructure, bridges, railways, clean electricity, telecommunications and logistics.

It was during Xi's 2017 state visit that a memorandum of understanding was signed on the joint implementation of the plan, with the aim of constructing major projects that could improve the well-being of the people.

The Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line in Hanoi, the country's first city metro, has witnessed nearly 20 million passenger trips since its commercial operation in November 2021. Built by China and run by Vietnam, the flagship project of development synergy is welcomed by citizens for being eco-friendly, convenient and affordable.

China has remained Vietnam's biggest trading partner for years, while Vietnam has been China's biggest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In 2022, the bilateral trade between the two sides stood at $234.92 billion and is expected to hit a new high this year.

In their joint statement, the two sides also agreed to apply practical measures to expand the scale of bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable direction. They agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of standardization, ensuring harmonization of standards for goods and products of both countries, especially agricultural products.

Vietnamese durians gained market access to China under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) framework in 2022. The fruit is widely popular among Chinese consumers and the exports are expected to top the goal of $1 billion this year, offering new opportunities for durian growers, packers and producers in Vietnam.

Other fruits like grapes, citrus and vegetables from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region also sold well in the Vietnamese market,.