Hanoi (VNA) – The 24th Vietnam–China youth friendship meeting opened in Hanoi on April 14, aiming to further solidify the traditional ties between the two countries.

Addressing the opening ceremony, First Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Central Committee Bui Quang Huy highlighted the deep-rooted friendship between Vietnam and China – the two close neighbours with mountains and rivers connected, common ideals, cultural similarities, and interconnected destinies.

Reflecting on the revolutionary history between the two nations, he expressed gratitude to past generations of leaders, particularly President Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao Zedong who laid the foundation for the enduring Vietnam–China friendship.

Recognising the trust of leaders of both sides on the youth’s role in strengthening the traditional friendship and breathing new life into the future of Vietnam–China relations, Huy said that over the years, the HCYU and the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) have fostered robust cooperation, yielding fruitful results.

Youth training programmes, cultural exchanges, and cooperation forums have provided thousands of young people with opportunities to learn about each other’s cultures, traditions, and customs, he noted. These initiatives have not only solidified the friendship between the two nations but also nurtured personal relations and friendship among the youth, paving the way for collaboration in study, research, career, production, and business.

Youth cooperation has also contributed to raising awareness and capacity to address global challenges, such as climate change, environmental protection, and the promotion of peace and stability in the region. With their dynamism, creativity, and youthful enthusiasm, young people from both sides are serving as “young cultural ambassadors,” building bridges of friendship and contributing to regional and global sustainable development, Huy underlined.

The HCYU leader emphasised that this year’s youth friendship meeting holds great significance in concretising the outcomes of recent high-level meetings and joint statements. It also serves to promote understanding among the younger generations about the new development steps in Vietnam–China relations. Notably, the meeting is taking on the occasion of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping’s state visit to Vietnam, offering a historic opportunity for young people of both countries to exchange views, share experiences in youth union activities, and discuss youth development, he stated.

Huy said that the HCYU hopes this meeting will help the Chinese youth gain a deeper understanding of Vietnam, its people, and culture, an enduring peace-loving nation that has always stood in solidarity with the Chinese people in the pursuit of socialism.

Building on the success of youth cooperation, particularly following the signing of the memorandum of understanding on collaboration in the 2024–2027 period, Huy proposed a number of focal points for cooperation in the coming time. These include enhancing education and communication efforts to raise awareness among the youth about the long-standing friendship between the two Parties and States, as well as the achievements of each country. He also called for deeper and more practical exchanges in education, culture, volunteer activities, arts, sports, media, science and technology, economy, and trade.

He emphasised the need to implement meaningful and effective youth exchange programmes, especially during the Year of Vietnam - China Humanistic Exchange in 2025, thereby reinforcing the social foundations for the bilateral relations.

The HCYU leader also proposed that the youth from both countries jointly explore and make use of key historical sites in Vietnam and China, designing meaningful activities that allow deeper understanding of the revolutionary support and solidarity shared between the two Parties and nations.

For his part, First Secretary of the CYLC Central Committee A Dong said that amid unprecedented changes in the world and an era of transformation, the youth from both countries should act as core forces in maintaining faith, strengthening unity, standing shoulder to shoulder, and boldly writing a new chapter through action.

He called on the youth to become the inheritors and messengers of the traditional friendship, ensuring that this bonds continue and flourish among younger generations. He emphasised that China and Vietnam are friendly neighbours with a long-standing tradition of friendship. As each country pursues its path to socialist modernisation, their peoples walk side by side in mutual support, thus further deepening the friendship between the two nations.

Through theoretical studies and practical exchanges, the youth of both nations should continue to cultivate the “four goods” relationship - good neighbours, good friends, good comrades, and good partners - in the new era, sharing meaningful stories about the China - Vietnam friendship, and ensuring this goodwill is carried on for generations, A Dong stressed.

Ahead of the opening ceremony, youth delegates from both countries joined a flower-laying ceremony at the statue of President Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi./.