China, Vietnam to avoid unilateral actions in disputes

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According to Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, China and Vietnam have agreed to properly handle maritime issues and manage differences through consultation.

The two diplomats met on Sunday during Wang's official visit to Vietnam after attending the sixth Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Summit.

At a joint press conference following their meeting, Wang and Pham commented on the two countries' territorial disputes in the South China Sea and highlighted the importance of refraining from taking unilateral actions that might complicate and escalate situations.

Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 1, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

Both sides pledged to earnestly implement all the regulations concerning the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues existing between the two countries.

Alignment of development plans

During their meeting, Wang said China is ready to earnestly implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries so as to lift the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new level.

The Chinese state councilor urged the alignment of China's Belt and Road Initiative with Vietnam's "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan, advance pragmatic cooperation in various fields, especially in infrastructure, industrial capacity and cross-border cooperation zone.

Pham said maintaining and strengthening the traditional friendship between Vietnam and China is in the interests of both countries, which also contributes to regional peace and stability.

May 6, 2017: Representatives of the Vietnamese Navy visit China's missile destroyer Changchun at the Saigon Port in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, during a four-day friendly visit to Vietnam by a Chinese naval fleet. /VCG Photo

Both countries should give full play to the Vietnam-China Steering Committee for Cooperation, promote integration of the Belt and Road Initiative with the "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan, push forward cooperation in various fields, and properly handle maritime issues, Minh added.

"We agreed that our two countries are now at a crucial stage of vigorously advancing the causes of reform, renewal and opening-up, with ever-increasing economic complements," Wang told reporters.

(With inputs from Xinhua)

(Top photo: Coast guards from China and Vietnam put out fire in a drill in a common fishing zone in the Beibu Gulf during a three-day joint patrol mission in Nov. 2016. /Xinhua Photo)

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