Yang Jiechi will visit Vietnam on October 27th.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry website quoted spokesperson Hua Chunying today as saying that State Councilor Yang Jiechi will visit Vietnam on October 27.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met on the morning of June 18.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying said: "At the invitation of Vietnamese Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi will visit Vietnam on October 27 and co-chair the 7th meeting of the China-Vietnam Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee with Mr. Pham Binh Minh."

This is Yang Jiechi's second visit to Vietnam in the past five months.

According to Reuters, the two sides will discuss "China-Vietnam bilateral cooperation".

Last June, Yang Jiechi visited Vietnam amidst escalating tensions between the two countries due to China's illegal placement of the Haiyang 981 oil rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone. At this meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh strongly affirmed Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel Islands, and its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as defined by UNCLOS 1982, to which both countries are signatories.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh demanded that China withdraw its oil rig and ships from Vietnam's waters, control the situation to prevent conflict, and negotiate to resolve the current tensions as well as other disagreements between the two countries on the basis of international law and UNCLOS 1982.

For his part, Yang Jiechi affirmed that the Chinese Party, Government, and people attach great importance to developing friendly relations with Vietnam, agreeing that both sides need to stabilize the situation at sea as soon as possible, exercise restraint to prevent conflicts from occurring, and prevent the deterioration of bilateral relations. He also urged joint efforts to promote deeper and more substantive cooperation in all aspects between the two countries, while reiterating China's stance on the South China Sea.

Last week, on the sidelines of the 10th ASEM Summit in Milan, Italy, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Regarding the South China Sea issue, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasized the need for both sides to effectively manage the situation at sea, refrain from actions that would further complicate matters, promote progress in negotiation mechanisms, seriously implement the Agreement on Basic Principles Guiding the Resolution of the South China Sea Issue between Vietnam and China; respect international law, and jointly maintain peace and stability in the region and the world.

According to Vietnamnet