Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, and To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese president, who is on a state visit to China, have a small chat over tea in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 19, 2024. Xi held talks with Lam at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. [Photo by Xie Huanchi/Xinhua]
Building on Past Achievements and Making New Advances In Pursuit of Shared Goals
H.E. Xi Jinping
General Secretary of the Central Committee
Of the Communist Party of China
And President of the People's Republic of China
For Nhan Dan of Viet Nam
Late spring is full of vitality. As China and Viet Nam celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, I will soon pay a state visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of Comrade To Lam, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, and Vietnamese President Comrade Luong Cuong. This will be my fourth visit to this beautiful country since I became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China. I look forward to renewing friendship with Vietnamese leaders, discussing ways of boosting cooperation, and drawing up a new blueprint for the China-Viet Nam community with a shared future in the new era.
China and Viet Nam are friendly socialist neighbors sharing the same ideals and extensive strategic interests. The profound friendship between the two parties and two peoples, forged decades ago, has grown stronger as we explore a socialist path suited to our respective national conditions and advance our respective modernization drive. Building the China-Viet Nam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance serves the common interests of our two countries and is conducive to peace, stability, development and prosperity of our region and beyond. It conforms with the trend of history. And it is the choice by our peoples.
The China-Viet Nam community with a shared future is inherited from our distinctive revolutionary traditions. During modern times, pioneers of Chinese and Vietnamese revolutions together explored a path to national salvation and made important contribution to the Third World's victory in the struggle against colonialism and imperialism. The historical site of the Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League in Guangzhou and the site of the office of the League for Independence of Viet Nam in Jingxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region bear witness to the revolutionary friendship between China and Viet Nam. Chairman Ho Chi Minh joined and supported the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Yan'an, Guilin, Chongqing and Kunming . China sent military and political advisers in support of the Vietnamese people's War Against French Occupation. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government and people gave full support for Viet Nam's just War Against U.S. Aggression to Save the Nation. This well-known line, "The friendship between Viet Nam and China is so profound because we are both comrades and brothers," is etched on our shared revolutionary memory.
The China-Viet Nam community with a shared future is based on strong political mutual trust. In recent years, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary To Lam and other Vietnamese leaders and I have visited each other many times, steering the course for building a China-Viet Nam community with a shared future. Our two parties and two countries have kept close high-level engagement. Mechanisms such as the steering committee for bilateral cooperation, the party-to-party theoretical symposium, the border defense friendship exchange, and the conference on crime control between the two public security ministries are functioning smoothly. High-level mechanisms including the joint committee between the National People's Congress of China and the National Assembly of Viet Nam have been established. The "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security between our two countries has been held successfully. China and Viet Nam hold similar positions on many regional and international issues and have engaged in close coordination on them.
The China-Viet Nam community with a shared future is rooted in our fruitful cooperation. China and Viet Nam have pursued closer cooperation on industrial and supply chains amid a sluggish global economic recovery. China has been Viet Nam's biggest trading partner for over 20 years in a row, with total bilateral trade exceeding US$260 billion in 2024. More and more quality Vietnamese agricultural products such as durian and coconut are available to Chinese consumers. Railway connectivity and the smart port development project are being steadily advanced. Solar panels, waste-to-energy plants and other bilateral clean energy projects have boosted electricity supply in Viet Nam. The Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line built by a Chinese company makes public transport in Hanoi more convenient. Contributing to each other's success and pursuing common development, China and Viet Nam have set an example of solidarity and cooperation in the Global South.
The China-Viet Nam community with a shared future is advanced by close people-to-people exchanges. Over the years, we have seen ever more people-to-people exchanges that foster increasingly closer ties between Chinese and Vietnamese peoples. Chinese tourists made more than 3.7 million visits to Viet Nam in 2024. With the official launch of the Detian-Ban Gioc Waterfall cross-border tourism cooperation zone and the opening of several cross-border road trip routes, visiting two countries in a single day has become possible. Chinese film and television productions and video games are popular among young Vietnamese, and more people in Viet Nam are learning Chinese. Many Vietnamese songs are now on hot search lists on social media in China, and many Chinese diners relish pho and other Vietnamese delicacies.
Today, global, epoch-making and historical changes are unfolding like never before, and the world has entered a new period of turbulent transformation. Despite the headwinds of mounting unilateralism and protectionism, the Chinese economy expanded by five percent in 2024, contributing around 30 percent to the global economy. It remains a key engine of the world economy. China's new energy sector, artificial intelligence and animated films have come into global spotlight. China will continue to provide more opportunities to the world with its high-standard opening up and contribute to the development of all countries with its high-quality development.
Asia represents a new elevation in global cooperation and development. At a new starting point toward revitalization of the whole region, Asia faces both unprecedented opportunities and challenges. China will ensure continuity and stability of its neighborhood diplomacy. We will stay committed to the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness. We will continue to pursue the policy of forging friendship and partnership with our neighbors. And we will steadily deepen friendly cooperation with them to advance Asia's modernization.
China is going all out to build a great modern socialist country and achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation by pursuing Chinese modernization. Viet Nam will usher in a new epoch of national development toward the two goals set for the centenary of the Party and the country respectively. China always gives Viet Nam high priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. Our two countries should strengthen our efforts on all fronts to build the China-Viet Nam community with a shared future, and contribute more to peace, stability, development and prosperity in Asia and the world at large.
—We should deepen strategic mutual trust and advance the socialist cause. The two sides should act on the guidance of the leaders. The China-Viet Nam steering committee for bilateral cooperation should coordinate our interactions more effectively to boost party, government, military, law enforcement and security cooperation, jointly tackle external risks and challenges, and uphold political security. China is ready to enhance exchanges of governance practices with Viet Nam, explore and enrich together socialist theory and practices, and promote the steady development of the two countries' socialist cause.
—We should continue win-win cooperation and deliver more benefit to our two peoples. we should create greater synergy between our development strategies, implement well the cooperation plan between the two governments on synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative and the Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy, and build more platforms for economic and technological cooperation. China stands ready to advance cooperation with Viet Nam on the three standard-gauge railways in northern Viet Nam and the smart port. China welcomes more quality Vietnamese products in the Chinese market, and encourages more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Viet Nam. Our two countries should step up cooperation on industrial and supply chains, and expand cooperation in emerging areas, such as 5G, artificial intelligence and green development, to create more benefits for the two peoples.
—We should strengthen people-to-people exchanges and forge a closer bond between our peoples. This year is the China-Viet Nam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, and we should use this opportunity to promote people-to-people exchanges in diverse forms. China welcomes Vietnamese visitors to travel across China, and encourages Chinese tourists to visit scenic sites in Viet Nam. Our two countries should carry out more activities that will bring our two peoples together such as the friendly meeting between youth and festive events in border areas. We should further tap into our revolutionary resources, and tell stories of friendship that resonate with our two peoples, so as to pass on the baton of China-Viet Nam friendship from generation to generation.
—We should enhance multilateral collaboration and promote Asia's prosperity and revitalization. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Our two countries should firmly uphold the U.N.-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law. It is important that we pursue the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. It is also important that we promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. We should work together with the Global South to uphold the common interests of developing countries. Trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere. Our two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and an open and cooperative international environment. We should strengthen coordination in mechanisms such as East Asia cooperation and Lancang-Mekong cooperation, so as to ensure more stability for a changing and turbulent world and inject more positive energy in it.
—We should properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region. The successful delimitation of our boundaries on land and in the Beibu Gulf demonstrates that with vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation. The two sides should implement the common understanding reached between the leaders of the two parties and the two countries. We should make good use of the maritime negotiation mechanism so as to properly manage maritime differences, expand maritime cooperation, and build up conditions for the final resolution of the disputes. We should fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and actively advance the consultation on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. We should be impervious to all interference, bridge differences and expand common ground, and make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.
Standing at this new starting point of history, China is ready to work with Viet Nam to build on past achievements, write a new chapter in building the China-Viet Nam community with a shared future, and contribute even more to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
