Beijing (VNA) –VietnameseAmbassador to China Dang Minh Khoi has applauded China’s press and pressmanagement agencies for their wide coverage of Vietnam as well as relationsbetween the two countries.
He met with reporters from China’s major media agencies and newspapers likeXinhua, People’s Daily, China Central Television, China National Radio andChina Youth Daily, and representatives of Chinese press management agencies inBeijing on January 11.
The ambassador used the occasion to briefthe Chinese media on Vietnam’s major socio-economic achievements and bigstrides in the Vietnam-China relationship in 2017, as reflected throughhigh-level meetings and visits of the two countries’ leaders.
Khoi highlighted the visits to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong in January 2017and President Tran Dai Quang in May 2017. Most recently, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping visited Vietnamand attended at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November 2017 attach toties with Vietnam.
General Secretary and President Xi Jinping’s selection of Vietnam asthe first country to visit following the 19th National Congress ofthe CPC reflects the importance the Chinese Party and State, as well as XiJinping himself attach to the Vietnam-China relationship in particular andrelations between China and its neighbouring countries in general, AmbassadorKhoi said.
The diplomat noted that bilateral trade value has surpassed 100 billionUSD and the number of tourists travelling between the two countries also sawstrong growth, with 4 million Chinese tourists visiting Vietnam and 3 millionVietnamese holiday makers choosing China for their trip in 2017.
Mentioning the outstanding maritime dispute between the two countries, AmbassadorKhoi stressed that both sides have showed their determination to maintain peaceand stability at sea, adding that they had worked together with ASEAN membercountries to approve the draft framework of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea(COC) in 2017 and speed up negotiations to build an effective COC.
The ambassador also pointed to existing problems in bilateral trade andinvestment ties, but said that he believes that they will gradually be solved inthe coming time.
He informed that that PMNguyen Xuan Phuc has invited his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang to pay anofficial visit to Vietnam and attend the Greater Mekong Sub-region Summitscheduled for March 2018 in Hanoi during their recent meeting inCambodia.
The ambassador said he hopes that there will be more opportunities forVietnamese and Chinese reporters to visit each other’s countries in order tohelp them obtain first hand and accurate information, contributing to enhancingmutual understanding as well as the friendship and cooperation between the twocountries, for the sake of their people, and for peace, stability andcooperation in the region. -VNA
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