PM affirms close ties with China

Both Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Chinese Party General Secretary and State President Hu Jintao have affirmed the steady development of neighbourly co-operation between the two countries.

The two leaders made the affirmation while exchanging views in Shanghai on Friday, stressing that these fine relations had worked for the benefits and aspirations of the two peoples.

Dung, who was in Shanghai to attend the opening ceremony of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, spoke highly of preparations for the expo by the Chinese government and Shanghai authorities.

Hu praised Dung’s visit to China and his presence at the expo’s opening ceremony as demonstrating the importance the Vietnamese Government and PM Dung had attached to China’s organisation of the event and their support for it. He expressed his belief that the visit would contribute to boosting friendship and co-operation between the two countries.

The two sides stressed the significance of the year 2010—Viet Nam-China Friendship Year—and expressed their pleasure at new and important developments in the two countries’ relations, especially since the two countries had set up a comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership in May 2008.

They agreed to take practical measures to further deepen bilateral co-operation by increasing high-level visits and meetings, as well as expanding exchanges and co-operation between ministries, agencies and localities of the two nations.

They also agreed to boost the efficiency of co-operation in all fields and maintain the pace of trade growth, striving to obtain a two-way trade turnover of US$25 billion this year.

The two leaders expressed their satisfaction at the completion of the demarcation of the Bac Bo (Tonkin) Gulf and land borders. They agreed that the two sides needed to continue negotiations on solutions for problems relating to the East Sea in the spirit of friendly neighbours, for mutual benefit, under international law to contribute to maintaining peace, stability and co-operation in the region and the world.

Dung took this occasion to extend his sympathies to the Chinese party, government and people, especially to families of the victims of the recent earthquake that hit northwest China’s Qinghai Province.

Hu thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for their sympathies and assistance to the people of Qinghai.

Dung conveyed the best regards from Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and State President Nguyen Minh Triet to Hu and other Chinese leaders, and an invitation for him to revisit Viet Nam in the near future.

Hu asked Dung to convey his best regards to Vietnamese leaders and said that he would visit Viet Nam at a convenient time.

Earlier in the day, Secretary of the Shanghai Party Committee Yu Zhengsheng met Dung and his delegation.

The two sides discussed measures to boost co-operation between Viet Nam and Shanghai, facilitating exchanges in investment, trade, education and training, culture and tourism.

They agreed to create favourable conditions to expand co-operation between ministries, sectors and localities of Viet Nam and Shanghai, including the opening of Viet Nam’s consulate general in the Chinese city and the hosting of Vietnamese students there.

The same day, Dung visited the Viet Nam House at the expo and witnessed the launching ceremony of the HCM City/Ha Noi-Shanghai air route. He also visited the Transport Bank and the Shanghai Research and Development Centre of Hua Wei Telecom Group.

Ningbo visit

Prime Minister Dung met with the Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People’s Council of Ningbo city, Bayin Chaolu, on April 28 during his visit to Zhejiang Province.

Dung expressed his pleasure to see that dozens of Ningbo’s enterprises had set up business ties with Vietnamese firms.

He also asked leaders of Ningbo City to create conditions for its enterprises to invest in and co-operate with Viet Nam, pledging that Viet Nam would facilitate enterprises and investors in terms of stable and long-lasting investments into the country.

Chairman Bayin Chaolu welcomed the visit to the city by Dung and his entourage, describing it as an important event for the city in bolstering co-operation with Viet Nam in many fields.

Ningbo’s enterprises had considered Viet Nam as an attractive investment destination, he said, adding that he would create favourable conditions for them to invest in Viet Nam.

Since China had applied its open-door policy, Ningbo had become one of the three largest economic centres in Zhejiang Province, and an important industrial area in the Changjiang river delta.

Boasting China’s largest port, Ningbo City has witnessed great developmental strides to become the country’s most dynamic economic area, with a GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2010 reaching 18.8 per cent.

Dung attended the Viet Nam-China Economic-Trade Forum in Ningbo City last Thursday.

Shanghai World Expo

The Shanghai World Expo 2010 got under way in Shanghai, China, last Friday with the participation of 192 countries and 50 international organisations, in the presence of world leaders.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Republic of Korea President Lee Myung-bak and other world leaders attended the opening ceremony.

The expo, entitled “Better City, Better Life”, introduces modern technologies and the latest initiatives of countries across the world on an area of 5.28ha, stretching along both sides of the Huangpu River.

According to organisers, about 20,000 performances will be held during the expo. The government of China said that they had invested 45 billion Chinese yuan (US$6.7 billion) into the event, even more than for the Bejing Olympics.

Viet Nam has promoted its image through a bamboo house on an area of 1,000sq.m. The house was designed to highlight the architecture of the 1,000-year-old Ha Noi capital and Viet Nam’s other typical cultural regions.

The expo was expected to bring about political, diplomatic, social and economic benefits for Viet Nam and to help strengthen the traditional friendly ties between Viet Nam and China, especially as the two countries were celebrating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the Viet Nam-China Friendship Year.

Through the expo, Viet Nam wanted to affirm its role, responsibility and rights in the settlement of major international issues, including urbanisation.

The expo, expected to attract about 70 million visitors from China and abroad, will run through October 31. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam China cooperation