Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong left for China on Tuesday morning for a four-day trip, during which he is scheduled to attend the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on October 17-18.

The trip, which will last until Friday, has been scheduled at the invitation of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of China Xi Jinping.

This is the first visit to China by President Thuong in his new position and also the third time a Vietnamese senior leader has attended the forum, which this time is expected to attract representatives from about 140 countries and international organizations.

The Vietnamese state head is accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Chairman of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, and other officials. 

In the context of the 15th anniversary of the Vietnam-China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, the trip reflects the high regard and top priority of the Vietnamese Party and State for the friendship and cooperative relations between Vietnam and China, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai.

As the year 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the trip also demonstrates welcome and respect for China’s connection initiatives, including the BRI for the goals of peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world. 

This is also an opportunity for senior leaders of the two countries to continue to deeply discuss measures to concretize high-level common perceptions and further promote bilateral relations, the ambassador said.

The BRI is a global development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 involving infrastructure development and investments in over 150 countries and international organizations around the world. 

This year’s forum, with a theme of ‘High-quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity,’ includes three high-level sessions focusing on the digital economy as a new driving force of growth, connectivity in an open global economy, and a green silk road for harmony with nature.

The event will also have six other forums on trade connection, people-to-people exchange, clean silk road, local cooperation, collaboration between research agencies, 

President Thuong will deliver important speeches at the event, contributing Vietnam's voice to promoting peace, cooperation, economic linkages and connectivity in the region, ambassador Mai said.

The event is also an opportunity to introduce Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements as well as its development goals to other countries, he added.

Vietnam and China have seen fruitful developments in their bilateral relations over the past years, especially since they upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in June 2008.  

The two-way trade between the two sides reached more than US$175 billion in 2022, up 5.47 percent year on year, according to Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

Last year also saw Vietnam become China’s largest trading partner in ASEAN and China’s fourth largest trading partner in the world, after the U.S., Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

Meanwhile, China has maintained its position as Vietnam’s largest trading partner over the past years, according to the Vietnam’s General Department of Customs. 

With a total investment of $2.1 billion into 478 projects in Vietnam over the first nine months of 2023, China has become the second largest FDI investor in the Southeast Asian nation, after Singapore.

Like us on Facebook or  follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!