China's Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi has announced that his country will provide Vietnam with about US$3.1 million and 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to support pandemic prevention and control efforts in the Southeast Asian country.

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son joined talks with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday in Zhejiang Province, as part of his official visit to China from December 2 to 4.

The two officials discussed measures to bolster the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership in the coming time.

Both sides focused on seeking ways to enhance coordination in COVID-19 prevention and control in order to maintain trade and economic exchange activities.

The Chinese diplomat announced a CNY20 million ($3.13 million) assistance for Vietnam to purchase medical equipment, alongside 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for Vietnamese localities.

The officials expressed their appreciation for the development of their countries' bilateral partnership in 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two-way trade in the first 10 months rose 30 percent year on year to $133.6 billion, surpassing the overall trade turnover of 2020.

They agreed on increasing high-level exchanges, strengthening comprehensive and effective coordination among ministries, sectors, localities, and people, and beefing up partnership in economic matters, trade, and other promising areas.

Minister Son proposed that China provide more favorable conditions for the Vietnamese goods, especially fruits and other agricultural products, which will help balance bilateral trade and maintain the supply and production chains of the two countries.

Minister Wang affirmed that China will expand the import of Vietnam's agricultural products and encourage local enterprises to invest in major high-tech projects in Vietnam.

He also praised Vietnam's ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Both sides exchanged views on issues related to borders and territories and agreed to strictly implement three related legal documents to manage the shared land borders and deal with arising problems.

They vowed to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC) and speed up negotiations for a Code of Conduct (COC) for the maritime area.

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