Vietnam and China agreed to enhance political trust, maintain high-level visits and strive for new progress in their relationship.
The officials highlighted the progress in bilateral co-operation since the steering committee’s 8th meeting last year. They concurred in working together to effectively carry out the co-operation plan for the 2016-2020 period of the two parties, increase collaboration in all fields, such as exchanges, trade and infrastructure development. As for maritime disputes, the officials stressed that Vietnam and China must control disagreements, maximise negotiation mechanisms to attain substantive progress, strive to carry out agreed joint projects at sea, and discuss the establishment of a co-operation mechanism for search and rescue at sea. At the end of the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and State Councilor Yang Jiechi witnessed the signing of the event’s minutes, a memorandum of understanding on co-operation between the Vietnam Coast Guard and the China Coast Guard, and exchanged an official letter on the Chinese government’s provision of an additional non-refundable aid worth 19.5 million USD funding the construction of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace. The two sides confirmed that all procedures were in place to establish a Chinese Consulate General in the central city of Danang.
