Nguyen Vinh Quang: Vietnam-China ties have a bright future

"Chinese president Jinping's visit to Vietnam is of far-reaching significance. The two sides elevated their ties, and we may have higher expectations for the future of Vietnam-China relations," said Nguyen Vinh Quang, vice chairman of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association in Hanoi.

Nguyen Vinh Quang

Nguyen Vinh Quang believed this visit signaled a high degree of mutual trust between Vietnam and China, noting it coincides with the 15th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and Xi is the Chinese top leader who has visited Vietnam the most in recent years.

Quang mentioned the 8,000-word joint statement on building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future covers the fields of economy, trade, investment, national defense, security, culture and education, while more than 30 documents on bilateral cooperation were signed by the two sides.

Looking into the future, Nguyen Vinh Quang said Vietnam and China complement each other in resources, and there is great potential for future cooperation, especially the cooperation between north Vietnam and China's border provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi. This can be seen in the following excerpts from the joint statement.

“The two sides agreed to promote the strategic development connection between the two countries, implementing the cooperation plan connecting the 'Two Corridors, One Belt framework' with the 'Belt and Road Initiative' between the governments of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the People's Republic of China.”

The joint statement also mentioned the two sides will "promote standard gauge railway connection across the Vietnam-China border and construction of the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong standard gauge railway," which will be connected to the Hekou port in south Yunnan's Honghe prefecture.

A road bridge will be constructed across the Honghe/Red River to link up Bat Xat in north Vietnam and Ba Sa in south Yunnan. Businesses of the two countries are encouraged to deploy cooperation in the fields of road infrastructure, bridges, railways, clean electricity, telecommunications and logistics, according to the joint statement.

Reporting by Chen Chen (YICC); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue