Recently, it was reported that China and Vietnam have agreed to build a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
In fact, it was even announced that the two countries are undertaking the new positioning of relations between them.
The significant announcement was made during the State Visit to Vietnam made by Chinese President and general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping.
There, the two countries have agreed to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance on the basis of deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between them.
President Xi himself has stated that China and Vietnam should work closely on international and regional issues, noting that the remarkable development achievements of the two countries are the results of both the hard work of both sides and an open and inclusive world, especially a peaceful and stable Asia-Pacific.
Also, President Xi stressed that the two countries should be able to manage differences on maritime issues.
The two countries’ leaders believe that they they should actively discuss and carry out more maritime cooperation projects, strive to promote joint maritime development, and turn challenges posed by maritime issues into opportunities of bilateral cooperation.
According to the head of Vietnam’s Communist Party, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam adheres to an independent foreign policy and takes developing relations with China as a top priority and strategic choice.
Trong said: “Vietnam is willing to work with China to build a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, comprehensively strengthen cooperation in political, economic, trade, security and non-governmental areas, and set a good example of mutual benefits and win-win results, which are in line with the common interests of the two parties, governments and peoples.”
The two leaders share the opinion that maritime disputes are only part of Vietnam-China relations.
They thus believe that the two countries can properly handle the matter in the spirit of mutual trust and mutual respect.
The two leaders also share the same idea in safeguarding multilateralism and international fairness and justice, and promoting peace, cooperation and development.
Just like the Philippines, Vietnam is also one of the countries that are claimants in the region of the South China Sea or what is known as the West Philippine Sea. If China and Vietnam are able to strike a common ground, the China and Philippines sure can, too.
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