Chinese and international press simultaneously published articles stating that the visit to China by General Secretary and President To Lam will further promote bilateral relations.
Xinhua News Agency reported that General Secretary and President To Lam will pay a state visit to China from August 18-20, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

According to the spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, during this visit, General Secretary and President To Lam will hold talks with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and other top officials such as Premier Li Qiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji and Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Wang Huning.

General Secretary and President To Lam. Photo: EPA-EFE

The spokesperson noted that the visit took place in the context of the two countries making efforts to implement the agreements reached during Xi Jinping’s historic visit to Vietnam last December. Beijing considered that To Lam’s choice of China as the first country to visit after taking office as General Secretary “demonstrates his great respect and appreciation for the relationship between the two parties and the two states.”

“Through this visit, China hopes to promote traditional friendship, deepen the building of a China-Vietnam community of shared destiny, and together with Vietnam achieve success on the path of socialist construction, towards modernization, with its own identity, jointly promote the cause of global socialism, and contribute to peace, stability and development of the region and the world,” the spokesperson emphasized.

China's Global Times also published an editorial assessing that General Secretary and President To Lam's visit "reflects Vietnam's consistent diplomatic stance and policy choices, in line with the fundamental interests of both Vietnam and China, contributing to maintaining peace and development in the region as well as globally."

According to the newspaper, Vietnam-China cooperation is based on the centuries-old spirit of neighborly friendship, geographical proximity, intertwined fates, “brotherly and comradely” relations, cooperation, support and mutual assistance throughout the revolutionary struggle as well as the development of the two countries. With a deep and solid foundation, Mr. To Lam’s visit is expected to promote new progress in the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership, in the context that both sides are on the path of modernization, strong economic development, towards prosperity and pursuing their millennium goals.

The newspaper also mentioned that in 2021, the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong initiated the construction of a new model for Vietnam's foreign policy, called "bamboo diplomacy". This strategy aims to create a favorable external environment for Vietnam's goal of building a socialist-oriented country in the mid-21st century. General Secretary and President To Lam is expected to continue to persevere on the diplomatic path set forth by the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and further promote this "bamboo diplomacy" strategy.

The Global Times also mentioned an important feature of Vietnam’s “bamboo diplomacy” policy, which is to maintain a strategic balance between major powers in the context of international integration. The newspaper said that although General Secretary and President To Lam has not been in office for long, Vietnam is showing good balance in diplomatic interactions with major powers such as China, the US and Russia.

Sharing the same view, Singapore-based news channel Channel NewsAsia quoted Dr. Nguyen Hong Hai, lecturer of politics and international relations at VinUniversity, as saying that General Secretary and President To Lam's visit to China "is highly symbolic, and at the same time wants to send a message that he wants to continue the legacy of the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who laid an important strategic foundation for Vietnam-China relations."

General Secretary and President To Lam is expected to push for the implementation of important agreements that his predecessor signed with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping during his visit to Hanoi late last year, on enhancing a number of cooperation areas such as politics, security and defense, cooperation through multilateral mechanisms and better management of disagreements between the two sides.

Other analysts also said that during his meeting with Chinese leaders, General Secretary and President To Lam is expected to seek opportunities to expand access to the world’s second most populous market for Vietnam’s high-quality agricultural products and investment. The two sides are also expected to accelerate plans to build high-speed railways connecting China with Hanoi and Vietnam’s key port cities.

On the occasion of General Secretary and President To Lam's state visit to China, the British news agency BBC on August 17 published an article recalling important milestones in bilateral relations since the two countries established official diplomatic relations in January 1950.

BBC cited figures showing that China is currently Vietnam's largest trading partner, largest import market and second largest export market. In the first 7 months of this year alone, Vietnam's import-export turnover with China reached 112.2 billion USD, up 25% over the same period in 2023.

Vietnam exports to China products such as mobile phones, components, electronic equipment, rubber, agricultural products, seafood, etc. and imports from the Chinese market machinery, equipment, raw materials for the garment industry, leather shoes, iron and steel, construction materials, etc., as well as daily necessities.

Rail connectivity will be high on the agenda when Mr Lam meets Mr Xi, officials say. Seamless rail links are seen as crucial for supply chains, with more Chinese manufacturers rerouting some of their exports to Vietnam amid trade tensions between China and the US. In addition to rail, the two sides are also expected to sign new agreements on investment and agricultural trade.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bao-quoc-te-noi-ve-chuyen-tham-trung-quoc-cua-tong-bi-thu-chu-tich-nuoc-to-lam-2312891.html