After achieving fruitful outcomes along with the Vietnamese leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his first state visit to Vietnam and left for Singapore Friday. [Special coverage]
Xi's 27-hour stay in Hanoi seems to be very brief but yields landmark achievements.
"The visit leaves me a deep impression and proves to be a great success," said the Chinese president when meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart.
FRUITFUL VISIT
Vietnam gave a rare high-profile welcome to Xi's visit, the first of its kind since Xi taking office.
Upon his arrival, Xi received a red-carpet welcome with a 21-gun salute, a ceremony Vietnam has suspended for years. Throughout Xi's visit, the Vietnam's top leaders held meetings with him, and invited the distinguished guest to banquet, luncheon and breakfast as well as to deliver a speech at the country's parliament.
"The high-level reception showcases that the Vietnamese side attaches great importance to President Xi's visit as well as the China-Vietnam relations," said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.
"The visit has met the goal of consolidating traditional friendship, furthering strategic coordination and promoting pragmatic cooperation," Xi told Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang.
"We have reached a series of consensus on pragmatic cooperation in various fields," said Xi.
The consensus mentioned was partly embodied in a joint communique, which outlined future cooperation.
The two sides also signed a number of cooperation documents covering such fields as party-to-party exchanges, transportation, tourism, production capacity, culture, railway, energy, finance and local affairs, after talks between Xi and Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee.
When summarizing the outcomes, Liu said the two sides have agreed on party-to-party exchanges, defense and security cooperation, alignment of development strategies and people-to-people exchanges.
Tran Cong Truc, former head of the Vietnamese government's border committee, said the two countries, in the next step, should continue to further implement the agreements.
"The most important thing is that the two sides must maintain serious, goodwill and constructive attitude while implementing these issues," said Truc.
COMRADELY DIALOGUE
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, highlights the special bond and shared interests between China and Vietnam, two socialist countries led by communist parties.
Xi met twice with Trong, exchanging views with him on how to share experiences in governing a country and party building so as to jointly improve the governing capacity of both sides.
China and Vietnam constitute a community of common destiny with strategic significance, Xi said, adding that the futures of the socialism cause of the two countries are highly intertwined.
China and Vietnam signed a five-year plan on cadre-training program starting from 2016. In Trong's visit to China in April, the two parties also inked a plan on party cooperation.
While addressing hundreds of Vietnamese congressmen in the country's National Assembly, Xi quoted the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh's remark that "China and Vietnam enjoy comradely and brotherly friendship," saying the two countries should become good comrades that help and trust each other; good partners that feature win-win cooperation; good neighbors with remarkable amity; and good friends with frequent exchanges and visits.
"Xi's tour is of great significance at a crucial time for both countries and parties," said Nguyen Ngoc Truong, head of a think-tank in Vietnam, adding that the visit will create new impetus for the ties.
INHERITING TRADITION
Xi also visited the mausoleum of the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, who made great contributions in fostering traditional friendship between the two countries.
During talks with Vietnamese leaders, Xi urged the two sides to inherit and maintain the "comradely and brotherly" traditional friendship built and carefully cultivated by Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh and other leaders of the older generations.
Chinese and Vietnamese people fought against the invaders hand-in-hand in the history, and now share the same cause for building a prosperous country, Xi said while addressing the Vietnamese parliament.
"China highly values traditional friendship, hoping to keep promoting neighborly and long-term cooperation with Vietnam," said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.
MITIGATING DIFFERENCE
The Chinese president also reiterated China's stance on the maritime disputes between the two countries, urging the two sides to properly manage and control the differences, safeguard stability at sea and focus more on cooperation.
"Treating each other as comrades, the leaders of both countries exchanged views in a candid and friendly manner on how to manage and control the differences between the two countries," Liu said, adding that "important consensus" was achieved.
According to a joint communique released Friday, China and Vietnam agreed to launch a joint survey mission on the waters outside the mouth of the Beibu Gulf in December, which is seen as the start for further maritime cooperation between the two countries.
The two sides also planned to steadily promote the negotiation of demarcation of the waters outside the mouth of the Beibu Gulf, and actively foster the joint development of these waters.
China and Vietnam also reached consensus that the two sides should seek a fundamental and long-lasting solution to the disputes through friendly consultations and negotiations, while actively looking for transitional ways, Liu said.
"The visit will open up for Vietnam and China to continue solving differences, which is in line with the two peoples' wishes and desires," said Truc.
