China, Vietnam vow to deepen traditional friendship

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam on Monday vowed to deepen their countries' traditional friendship and jointly lead the development of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met To Lam, also general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

To Lam arrived in south China's Guangzhou on Sunday morning and is on a state visit until Tuesday. Xi welcomed Lam's state visit to China and once again congratulated him on his election as general secretary of the CPV Central Committee.

China is the destination for Lam's first overseas visit after taking office as general secretary of the CPV Central Committee. President Xi said this fully reflects the great importance Lam attaches to the relations between the two parties and the two countries and the high level and strategic nature of China-Vietnam relations.

Xi expressed a willingness to establish good working relations and personal friendship with Lam to jointly guide the substantial development in building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future.

Amid changes in the world, the times and history, China and Vietnam have maintained rapid economic development and long-term social stability, demonstrating the superiority of the socialist system and the vitality of the socialist cause, Xi said, noting that China takes Vietnam as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and supports Vietnam in upholding the leadership of the CPV, taking the socialist path suited to its national conditions, and further advancing the cause of reform, opening up and socialist modernization.

Xi underscored that at the critical stage of national development and revitalization, China and Vietnam should, under the direction of the vision of building a community with a shared future, consolidate the development pattern featuring higher political mutual trust, more solid security cooperation, deeper practical cooperation, stronger public support, closer multilateral coordination and cooperation, and better management and resolution of differences.

China is ready to maintain close strategic communication and high-level exchanges with Vietnam, firmly adhere to mutual support, actively explore ways to expand synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy, accelerate the "hard connectivity" of railway, expressway and port infrastructure, enhance the "soft connectivity" of smart customs, and jointly build a secure and stable industrial and supply chain, Xi said.

He called on the two sides to take the opportunity to celebrate the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties next year by jointly holding a series of activities, such as the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges to consolidate the popular support of the two countries.

He also called for joint efforts to uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and other basic norms governing international relations, promote an equal and orderly multi-polar world and economic globalization that benefits all, uphold international fairness and justice and the common interests of developing countries, and work to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xi briefed Lam on the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, stressing that China's further deepening of reform in an all-round way and advancing of high-level opening-up will create new impetus and new opportunities for the development of Vietnam and other countries.

China is willing to deepen the exchange of experience in party and state governance with Vietnam, jointly upgrade the modernization of the national governance system and capacity and march toward modernization together, he said.

(With input from Xinhua)