This visit to China by General Secretary and President To Lam took place at a very special time, and was highly valued by both Vietnam and China, with careful arrangements and preparations in terms of both program and content.

On the occasion of the State visit of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam To Lam to the People's Republic of China from August 18-20, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai gave an interview to a reporter of the Vietnam News Agency in Beijing about the purpose and significance of the visit. The following is the content of the interview.

- Could you please tell us about the importance and significance of General Secretary and President To Lam's visit to China for the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and building a community of shared future between Vietnam and China?

Ambassador Pham Sao Mai: At the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and his wife, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam To Lam and his wife will pay a State visit to the People's Republic of China from August 18-20.

The visit of General Secretary and President To Lam is of great significance. This is the first foreign visit of General Secretary and President To Lam in his new position, demonstrating the high regard the Vietnamese Party and State attach to developing the friendly neighborly relationship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and China.

The visit takes place at a crucial time for each Party, each country and the Vietnam-China relationship. Vietnam is striving to successfully implement the goals and tasks set out in the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress; reviewing 40 years of Doi Moi and gradually implementing preparations for the 14th National Congress. China is stepping up the implementation of development tasks and goals, deepening reforms identified at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Vietnam-China relations have maintained a very positive development momentum and achieved many important achievements in all fields. The two sides agreed to continue to deepen and elevate the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, build a Vietnam-China Community of Shared Future of strategic significance, and strive for the happiness of the people of the two countries, for the cause of peace and progress of mankind.

The visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to China this time is an opportunity for senior leaders of the two Parties and two countries to continue to deepen strategic exchanges, identify major directions and measures to promote the relationship between the two Parties and the two countries of Vietnam and China to develop more stably, substantially and effectively in the coming time.

- Could you share the highlights of the General Secretary and President's visit this time? How has the Vietnamese Embassy in China prepared for this important event, Ambassador?

Ambassador Pham Sao Mai: The State visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to China has been highly valued by both Vietnam and China, with both the program and content carefully arranged and prepared. General Secretary and President To Lam will have important talks and meetings with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese leaders.

The two sides will inform each other about the situation of each Party and each country, and discuss in depth the strengthening and deepening of bilateral relations, including promoting the tradition of regular high-level exchanges, further consolidating political trust, promoting the effective implementation of high-level common perceptions and signed agreements, expanding and improving the effectiveness and quality of cooperation areas in the direction of "6 more", bringing substantive cooperation into depth, achieving many practical results, and bringing benefits to the people of the two countries.

This visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to China takes place at a very special time, right on the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's departure from Moscow to Guangzhou as a representative of the Communist International to carry out revolutionary activities. These were the years when President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese revolutionaries received wholehearted support and assistance from the Communist Party and the Chinese people, especially in the establishment of the "Vietnam Revolutionary Youth League" - the revolutionary organization that was the predecessor of the Communist Party of Vietnam (June 1925).

Through the visit, the two sides reviewed the history of the development of relations between the two Parties and countries, continued to inherit and promote the long-standing tradition of friendship between the two Parties, two countries and peoples; at the same time, they expressed that Vietnam always appreciates and is grateful for China's valuable support and assistance in the past cause of national liberation, as well as in the current construction and development of the country.

The Vietnamese Embassy in China considers its participation in the preparation for the State visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to China to be both an honor and a top priority task this year. The Embassy maintains close contact with relevant agencies and localities on both sides to discuss and coordinate the development of programs and contents of the visit, and makes every effort to contribute to the success of the visit.

- Vietnam has now become China's fifth largest trading partner while the economic and trade relations between the two sides still have much potential for development, especially in new areas of cooperation. Could you tell us what the two sides need to do and how they should strive to continue to bring bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation to new achievements?

Ambassador Pham Sao Mai: In recent times, economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and China has maintained a strong momentum of development and is increasingly deepening. Vietnam continues to be China's largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China's fifth largest global trading partner.

China is Vietnam's largest trading partner, largest import market and second largest export market. Total bilateral trade turnover in 2023 reached 171.9 billion USD and in the first 7 months of 2024 reached 112.6 billion USD. China's direct investment in Vietnam continues to increase rapidly, reaching 4.47 billion USD in 2023 and 1.524 billion USD in the first 7 months of 2024.

In the context of the two countries carrying out innovation, deepening reform and opening up, developing high quality, carrying out industrialization and modernization of the country and on the positive development momentum of bilateral relations, the two sides have many opportunities and potential to continue expanding economic-trade and investment cooperation.

Regarding trade, the two sides need to continue to make efforts to maintain a stable, balanced and sustainable development trend; actively promote and promptly complete procedures to export more Vietnamese products with strengths to China, especially agricultural and aquatic products; increase the exploitation of new markets with great potential in the northern, northeastern, eastern, central and western regions of China; take advantage of and exploit the role of cooperation agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area and the mechanisms of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the ASEAN-China Expo (CAEXPO), the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair)... to enhance promotion and cooperation connections for businesses of both sides.

In addition, the two sides need to continue to facilitate trade through increasing road and rail connections, effectively combining with sea transport; taking advantage of e-commerce, upgrading and perfecting the logistics system; improving the efficiency of goods clearance through cooperation in building border trade infrastructure, especially smart border gates; maintaining and ensuring smooth supply chains of goods between the two sides; strengthening cooperation in the field of standardization, ensuring harmonization of standards for goods and products of Vietnam and China.

Regarding investment, the two sides need to further exploit the potential for cooperation in areas such as high-quality agriculture, innovation, infrastructure, digital economy, and green energy. Vietnam welcomes and is ready to create a healthy and stable investment environment for capable and reputable Chinese enterprises to invest in Vietnam.

The two countries also have potential and strengths that can complement and support each other in many areas, especially in border infrastructure connectivity, road and railway infrastructure and high-tech projects. In addition, it is necessary to actively speed up coordination to handle problems and backlogs in some previous investment projects to create a positive atmosphere for new cooperation projects between the two countries.

I firmly believe that, on the basis of the advantages, potentials, needs and existing foundations of bilateral relations, with the determination and joint efforts of the two Parties, the two countries and the two peoples, the economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries will continue to develop, reap many new achievements, and be more worthy of the current level of Vietnam-China bilateral relations.

-In recent years, local cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have been constantly developing. According to the Ambassador, what is the significance of this cooperation in enhancing understanding between the people of the two countries in particular, as well as promoting the Vietnam-China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in general?

Ambassador Pham Sao Mai: The Party and State of Vietnam always attach importance to, support and create conditions for Vietnamese localities and people to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Chinese localities and people, contributing to the good implementation of high-level agreements and common perceptions, and constantly striving to consolidate and firmly cultivate the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in accordance with the wishes and interests of the people of the two countries.

It can be said that with advantages such as close geographical distance and convenient transportation, local cooperation is increasingly becoming an important part of the overall cooperation in all fields between the two countries. In recent times, the exchange and cooperation between localities and people of the two countries has been very active, achieving many positive results. Annual exchange mechanisms such as the Spring Meeting between the Secretaries of Cao Bang, Lang Son, Ha Giang, Quang Ninh and Guangxi provinces; the Conference between the Secretaries of Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Dien Bien and Yunnan provinces; the Conference on economic corridor cooperation of 5 provinces and cities of Lao Cai, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh (Vietnam) and Yunnan (China) ... are maintained regularly. Leaders of localities of the two countries have expanded exchanges, visits and visits to each other, thereby contributing to strengthening friendly relations, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation between localities of the two sides, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries.

At the same time, people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have been strongly restored. Regular exchange activities such as the Vietnam-China People's Forum, youth friendship exchanges, etc. have been organized more and more effectively, contributing to increasing mutual understanding, strengthening friendship between the young generation, and firmly consolidating the social foundation of the relationship between the two countries. Cultural, educational, and tourism cooperation has achieved many encouraging results. Currently, there are more than 23,000 Vietnamese students living and studying in China; the number of Chinese tourists to Vietnam has been constantly increasing, reaching about 2.1 million in the first 7 months of 2024 alone.

I believe that in the coming time, along with the stable and positive development momentum in the relationship between the two Parties and the two countries, local cooperation and people-to-people exchange will continue to be a bright spot in the bilateral relationship, becoming one of the driving forces for the development of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries.

Thank you, Ambassador!./.