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Viet Nam and China praised their Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation for its role in guiding and promoting the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties and the two countries after one year of operation.
They made the affirmation at the committee’s second meeting in Beijing on January 23, which was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem and Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan.
Reviewing the two countries’ relationship since the Steering Committee first met in November 2006, the two sides said they were pleased that the relationship between the two parties and the two countries continued to grow in many fields.
As high-level visits and meetings have been made regularly, the ties between ministries and sectors have been further broadened and bilateral cooperation has developed in a more practical manner.
With bilateral trade growing fast, the two countries net 15 billion USD in two-way trade turnover for which China continued to retain itself as the largest trade partner to Viet Nam for the third consecutive year.
The settlement of border and territorial issues has made progress, with 85 percent of the demarcation and landmark planting workload fulfilled, an agreement on border defence cooperation signed, and four joint patrols in the Tonkin gulf conducted.
Negotiations, particularly the three special meetings of Governmental-level chief negotiators, have enabled existing and arising issues related to the East Sea to be thoroughly discussed and timely solved.
The two sides agreed on the need to continue exchanging more high-level visits in various forms to further boost the cooperation between the two Parties and the two countries and address problems that still exist or may arise in the bilateral ties, especially those related to the East Sea, thus helping consolidate mutual trust and enhance the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
Both sides agreed to exert joint efforts to strictly implement agreements and common awareness reached by the two countries’ leaders to complete land border demarcation and landmark planting within this year and accelerate the negotiations on the delineation of the sea area off the Tonkin Gulf and the issues relating to the East Sea .
The two sides discussed frankly and agreed that Viet Nam and China should focus discussions on solutions to the issues relating to the East Sea including the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes.
They reached consensus on immediate implementation of a number of projects in less sensitive areas such as oceanic research, crime prevention and control, environmental protection, and a joint survey on the water area off the Tonkin Gulf in order to serve the negotiation on the delineation and cooperation for regional development.
On economic, trade and investment cooperation relations, the two sides were unanimous in maintaining the growth of two-way trade value and soon organising the sixth session of the Viet Nam-China Joint Commission for Economic and Trade Cooperation. The officials also agreed to complete a five-year plan on the in-depth development of the Viet Nam-China economic and trade relations, sign animal and vegetable quarantine agreements and speed up the implementation of the “two corridors, one economic belt” cooperation plan with priorities given to projects on building railway and road traffic infrastructural facilities.
Regarding bilateral cooperation on tourism, education and sports, the two sides agreed to enhance the exchange of while diversifying forms and measures and building medium- and long-term plan.
Both sides agreed to conduct the third session in Ha Noi with the concrete time being discussed later.
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