The Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee held its 11th meeting.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi co-chaired the meeting.
On the morning of September 16, in Ho Chi Minh City, Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi co-chaired the 11th meeting of the Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee.
In addition to the plenary session, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and State Councilor Wang Yi had a closed-door meeting and a cordial, constructive and frank exchange on bilateral relations and issues of mutual concern.
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| The 11th meeting of the Vietnam - China Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee. |
The two sides agreed that since the 10th Meeting (April 2017) up to now, the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has continued to maintain a positive development trend. High-ranking leaders of the two Parties and countries have maintained regular meetings and contacts; exchanges and cooperation between ministries, branches and localities have been promoted; cooperation in various fields has achieved encouraging progress; people-to-people exchanges have taken place vigorously.
Besides, there are still some problems in the relationship between the two countries such as: Vietnam's trade deficit with China is still large; some projects built by Chinese enterprises need to be urgently promoted; the progress of implementing non-refundable aid needs to be accelerated.
The two sides had in-depth discussions and identified a number of key tasks to effectively implement the common perceptions of the high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and two countries, contributing to promoting the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to develop stably, healthily and sustainably in the coming time.
The two sides agreed to coordinate well in preparing for visits and contacts between the two countries' senior leaders; effectively deploy cooperation between the two Parties; promote the important role of the two Foreign Ministries in coordinating and promoting bilateral relations; and effectively deploy exchange and cooperation mechanisms in the fields of defense, security, and law enforcement.
Regarding economics and trade, the two sides agreed to continue applying effective measures to promote cooperation in the fields of economics, trade, and investment for stable, sustainable, balanced, and healthy development; support businesses of the two countries to implement cooperation in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, including rice, cassava, dairy products, and some types of fruit; continue to facilitate the operations of Vietnam's Trade Promotion Offices in China; encourage Chinese businesses to increase investment in Vietnam in fields with advanced, environmentally friendly technology; strengthen direction for businesses of the two sides to actively coordinate and resolve difficulties and obstacles in cooperation projects.
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| Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and State Councilor Wang Yi witnessed the signing ceremony of the "Minutes of the 11th Meeting of the Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee" |
The two sides agreed to promote cooperation in the fields of science and technology, environment, transportation, agriculture, and health; and expand cooperation in the fields of culture, education, tourism, press, and people-to-people exchange.
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh suggested that both sides promote mutually beneficial cooperation areas to achieve substantial progress in accordance with the common perception of the two countries' senior leaders; effectively utilize existing cooperation mechanisms between ministries, branches and localities, maintain regular exchanges between the two Secretaries General of the Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation, promote the bridging role of the two countries' Ambassadors, contribute to expanding and improving the quality of cooperation in all fields, and promote the Vietnam-China relationship to continue to develop stably and sustainably.
The two sides had a frank discussion on maritime issues, agreeing to adhere to the important common perception reached between the high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and two countries and the “Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues between Vietnam and China”; promote negotiation mechanisms on maritime issues to achieve substantive results; comprehensively and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) to ensure a favorable environment for the COC negotiation process; continue the spirit of cooperation, constructiveness and actively discuss with ASEAN countries the specific and substantive contents of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC); well control disagreements at sea, do not take actions that complicate the situation, expand disputes, maintain peace and stability in the East Sea.
At the end of the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and State Councilor Wang Yi witnessed the signing ceremony of the "Minutes of the 11th Meeting of the Vietnam - China Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee".
Previously, on September 14, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung and Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou held a meeting between the two Secretaries General of the Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee./.
