Vietnam-China Joint Statement

Nghe An Online Newspaper respectfully presents the full text of the Vietnam-China Joint Statement.

The President of Vietnam held talks with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping.

1. At the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Truong Tan Sang, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping paid a State visit to Vietnam from November 5 to 6, 2015.

During the visit, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping held talks with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Truong Tan Sang, and met with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung. In a friendly, sincere, and frank atmosphere, the high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and countries exchanged views in depth and reached important common understandings on further deepening cooperation between the two Parties and countries, as well as on international and regional issues of mutual concern.

Both sides agreed that the visit was a great success, making an important contribution to consolidating traditional friendship, deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China, and promoting peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

2. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the great and historically significant achievements of each country in building socialism in accordance with their respective circumstances; they agreed to strengthen exchanges and learn from each other's experiences, promoting the continuous development of Vietnam's renovation and China's reform and opening-up, creating new vitality for the socialist construction of each country.

The Vietnamese side sincerely wishes and believes that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people will certainly promote the harmonious and comprehensive construction of a moderately prosperous society, deepen comprehensive reforms, comprehensively govern the country according to law, comprehensively manage the Party strictly, and successfully achieve the goal of building a modern, prosperous, democratic, civilized, and harmonious socialist state.

The Chinese side sincerely wishes the Communist Party of Vietnam success in organizing the 12th National Party Congress in early 2016; and believes that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people will successfully achieve the set goals, building Vietnam into a socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, just, and civilized.

3. Both sides reviewed the development of relations between the two Parties and two countries over the past 65 years since Vietnam and China established diplomatic relations, agreeing that the Vietnam-China friendship, personally built and nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh, Chairman Mao Zedong, and other senior leaders, is a precious common asset of the people of both countries that needs to be preserved, inherited, and promoted; to effectively implement the motto "friendly neighborliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, and looking towards the future" and the spirit of "good neighbors, good friends, good comrades, good partners"; to firmly grasp the correct direction of Vietnam-China friendship, strengthen strategic exchanges, consolidate political trust, promote cooperation in various fields on the basis of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, effectively manage and resolve disagreements appropriately, and promote the healthy and stable development of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China.

4. Both sides agreed that maintaining regular high-level contact between the two Parties and countries plays an important role in strengthening political trust and promoting the development of bilateral relations; they agreed to maintain high-level exchanges through flexible and diverse forms such as reciprocal visits, sending special envoys, hotline calls, annual meetings, and meetings on the sidelines of multilateral forums to promptly exchange views on important issues in the relations between the two Parties and countries.

5. Both sides agreed that Vietnam and China are both in a crucial period of socio-economic development, and that the development of one country presents opportunities for the development of the other. They agreed to effectively leverage the overall coordinating role of the Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee, focusing on promoting cooperation in the following areas:

(i) Effectively implement the cooperation plan between the two Parties and deepen exchange and cooperation activities between Party organizations at the central and local levels, especially in localities sharing a common border; continue to organize the theoretical seminar well and effectively implement the cooperation plan for training cadres of the two Parties for the period 2016-2020 signed during this visit. Actively promote friendly exchanges and cooperation between the National Assembly of Vietnam and the National People's Congress of China, between the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; promote friendly exchanges between the people of the two countries.

(ii) Effectively implement the cooperation protocol between the two countries' Ministries of Foreign Affairs, maintain regular exchanges between the leaders of the two Ministries, continue to hold annual diplomatic consultations, strengthen exchanges between the respective departments/bureaus, and effectively carry out the training of officials between the two Ministries. The Vietnamese side is ready to facilitate the establishment of a Consulate General in Da Nang, Vietnam, by China.

(iii) Maintain high-level exchanges between the two militaries, make good use of the Defense Strategic Dialogue mechanism, Vietnam-China border defense friendship exchanges, and the direct telephone communication line between the two Ministries of Defense; strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries in areas such as border defense friendship exchanges, officer training, military academic research, joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin, and naval vessel visits; deepen exchanges of experience on United Nations peacekeeping operations and party and political work in the military; strengthen cooperation in maritime law enforcement between the two countries' coast guards, jointly maintain peace and stability in the Gulf of Tonkin, and promote the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Vietnam Coast Guard Command and the China Coast Guard. Deepen cooperation in the field of security and law enforcement, continue to successfully organize the Conference on Cooperation in Crime Prevention and Control between the two Ministries of Public Security and the Deputy Ministerial-level Strategic Security Dialogue between the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam and the Ministry of State Security of China; strengthen cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, combating drug crimes, combating cyber fraud, immigration management, border management, cybersecurity, exchange of experiences on ensuring security in each country, coordination in investigating and apprehending fugitive criminals, preventing illegal labor, etc.

(iv) Strengthen strategic development linkages between the two countries; promote connectivity between the "Two Corridors, One Belt" framework and the "One Belt, One Road" initiative; enhance cooperation on production capacity in fields such as construction materials, supporting industries, machinery and equipment, electricity, renewable energy, etc. Expeditiously establish a Working Group, actively discuss and sign a general plan for the construction of a cross-border economic cooperation zone, promote the construction and actively attract investment to the Long Giang (Tien Giang) and An Duong (Hai Phong) industrial parks in Vietnam, and urge and direct enterprises of both countries to effectively implement cooperation projects such as iron and steel and fertilizer projects undertaken by Chinese enterprises in Vietnam.

Effectively utilize the mechanism of the Vietnam-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Committee, actively study and sign the "Five-Year Development Plan for Vietnam-China Economic and Trade Cooperation," and urgently revise the "Vietnam-China Border Trade Agreement." Implement balanced, stable, and sustainable bilateral trade development, striving to achieve the target of US$100 billion in bilateral trade turnover by 2017. Strengthen cooperation within the framework of the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Agricultural Product Trade"; encourage enterprises from both sides to expand trade cooperation in agricultural products; and welcome relevant agencies and localities of both countries to exchange information on establishing a trade promotion agency.

Strengthening the roles of the Working Group on Infrastructure Cooperation and the Working Group on Monetary Cooperation, promoting cooperation in related fields, has led to continuous positive progress. The Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project has been successfully implemented; the planning for the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong high-speed railway line has been expedited; and cooperation in infrastructure connectivity, such as the Mong Cai-Van Don expressway, has been promoted.

Deepen customs cooperation, jointly combat cross-border smuggling, continue to seek cooperative measures to promote customs clearance facilitation, strengthen infrastructure development and management, and enhance cooperation in opening border crossing areas between the two countries.

(v) Expand cooperation in the fields of science and technology, education, culture, tourism, and journalism, etc. Make good use of the mechanism of the Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation between the two countries, actively promote cooperation in technology transfer, exchanges between scientists, and exchanges on the establishment of joint laboratories. Strive to complete the construction and operation of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace by 2017, establish a cultural center of each country in the other, and effectively operate the Confucius Institute at Hanoi University. Strengthen press exchanges between the two countries and increase the level of propaganda about Vietnam-China friendship. Continue to organize well activities such as the Vietnam-China Youth Friendship Meeting, people's forums, and organize the 3rd Vietnam-China Youth Festival in Vietnam in 2016.

6. Continue to effectively promote the role of the Vietnam-China Joint Committee on Land Border, and properly implement the "Agreement on Vessel Traffic in the Free Navigation Zone at the Bac Luan River Estuary" and the "Agreement on Cooperation in Protecting and Exploiting Tourism Resources at Ban Gioc Waterfall" signed during this visit; conduct a review of the five-year implementation of the three documents on land border management between the two countries. Strengthen cooperation between border provinces/regions and promote the development of the border areas of both countries.

7. The two sides had a sincere and frank exchange on maritime issues, emphasizing the serious adherence to the important common understandings reached between the high-level leaders of the two Parties and two countries; seriously implementing the "Agreement on the Basic Principles Guiding the Resolution of the Vietnam-China Maritime Issues"; making good use of the government-level negotiation mechanism on the Vietnam-China territorial border; persistently seeking fundamental and long-term solutions acceptable to both sides through friendly consultation and negotiation; actively discussing transitional solutions that do not affect the positions and policies of each side, including actively researching and discussing cooperation for joint development.

Both sides announced the commencement of joint field surveys in the area outside the Gulf of Tonkin in mid-December 2015, considering this an important first step for the two sides to implement cooperation at sea; to firmly promote negotiations on the delimitation of the maritime area outside the Gulf of Tonkin and actively promote cooperation for joint development in this area; agreed to increase the intensity of negotiations of the Expert-level Working Group on the maritime area outside the Gulf of Tonkin, continue to promote the work of the Working Group on cooperation for joint development at sea, strengthen cooperation in less sensitive areas, and announced the launch of a cooperation project to study the comparative Holocene sediments in the Red River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta.

Both sides agreed to jointly manage disagreements at sea effectively, fully and effectively implement the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" (DOC), promote the early achievement of the "Code of Conduct in the South China Sea" (COC) on the basis of unified consultation, refrain from actions that complicate or expand disputes; promptly and appropriately handle emerging issues, and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and Vietnam-China relations.

8. The Vietnamese side affirms its commitment to the One China policy, supports the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and the great cause of China's reunification, and resolutely opposes any form of separatist activities aimed at "Taiwan independence." Vietnam does not develop any official relations with Taiwan. The Chinese side expressed its welcome to Vietnam's stance.

9. Both sides agreed to continue strengthening coordination within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - China; jointly maintaining, protecting, and promoting world peace, prosperity, and development. China supported Vietnam in successfully hosting the APEC Summit 2017.

10. During the visit, the two sides signed the following cooperation documents: “Plan for cooperation in training cadres between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Communist Party of China for the period 2016-2020”, “Agreement on vessel traffic in the free navigation zone at the mouth of the Bac Luon River between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the People's Republic of China”, “Agreement on cooperation in protecting and exploiting the tourism resources of Ban Gioc Waterfall between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the People's Republic of China”, “Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the establishment of a Cultural Center of one country in the other”, “Exchange of notes between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the feasibility of the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong railway line”, “Memorandum of Understanding on promoting cooperation in production capacity between the Ministries of Industry and Trade of the two countries”. "The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China", "Memorandum of Understanding on Optimizing the Design of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace Project between the Ministry of Planning and Investment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China", "Agreement between the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee, Communist Party of Vietnam and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Party Committee, Communist Party of China on Establishing Friendly Exchanges between Local Party Organizations", "Agreement on Implementing Friendly Exchanges between Local Party Committees between the Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee, Communist Party of Vietnam and the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, Communist Party of China"...

11. General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping sincerely thanked General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Truong Tan Sang, and the Communist Party, State, and people of Vietnam for the warm, cordial, and friendly reception./.

Hanoi, November 6, 2015

According to Chinhphu.vn