Mr. Yang Jiechi will visit Vietnam on October 27.

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

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

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

This is Mr. Yang Jiechi's second visit to Vietnam in the past 5 months.

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

Last June, Mr. Yang Jiechi visited Vietnam amid escalating tensions between the two countries due to China illegally placing the Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone. At this meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh strongly affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago, Vietnam’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as determined by the 1982 UNCLOS, of which both countries are members.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh asked China to withdraw its drilling rig and ships from Vietnam's waters, control the situation to avoid conflicts, negotiate to resolve the current tension as well as other disagreements between the two countries on the basis of international law, UNCLOS 1982.

For his part, Mr. Yang Jiechi affirmed that the Chinese Party, Government and people attach importance to developing friendly relations with Vietnam, agreed that both sides need to soon stabilize the situation at sea, restrain from conflicts, not let the relationship between the two countries deteriorate, and work together to promote deeper and more substantial development in all aspects of cooperation between the two countries, while reiterating China's stance on the East 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 East Sea issue, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasized the need for both sides to control the situation at sea well, not take actions that further complicate the situation, promote progress in negotiation mechanisms, seriously implement the Agreement on Basic Principles Guiding the Resolution of Vietnam-China Sea Issues; respect international law, and jointly maintain peace and stability in the region and the world.

According to Vietnamnet