Foreign media, experts laud Premier Li's visit to SE Asia

Vietnamese and Singaporean media, and experts from Vietnam and Malaysia closely followed Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Vietnam, saying it enhanced cooperation between the two nations and advanced China's ties with Southeast Asia as a whole. [Special coverage]

Vietnam News, an English-language newspaper of the country, highlighted the consensus reached by Li and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung on deepening the two-way comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Both sides agreed to build three work groups respectively on maritime exploration, onshore infrastructure and financial cooperation, it reported.

"The visit of the Chinese counterpart would contribute to furthering the friendly ties between the two Parties, countries and people," the Vietnamese premier was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Reporting about talks between the two premiers in capital Hanoi on Sunday, Radio Voice of Vietnam (VOV) focused on their discussion on a number of measures to deepen the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between Vietnam and China in the new context, including the need to increase political trust and maintain regular visits and exchanges at all levels.

Both the People's (Nhan Dan) Newspaper, an organ of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper, both carried a commentary titled "Strengthening Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership", which quoted words of the two premiers on consensus to boost bilateral ties in the new situation.

State-run Vietnam News Agency focused on contents of the measures that the two premiers approved during their talks aimed at enhancing the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Do Tien Sam, Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said the consensus reached by Chinese and Vietnamese Premiers on such issues as politics, economy, trade, people-to-people exchange and of properly handling of differences is significant for boosting bilateral ties, political mutual trust and safeguarding regional and global peace and stability.

In that regard, Li made a seven-pronged proposal on the framework of cooperation while attending the 16th China-ASEAN Summit, which will play an important role for promoting China-ASEAN cooperation, Do said.

Tang Siew Mun, Director of Foreign Policy and Security Studies, at Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International infrastructure Studies, said that the Chinese leaders' recent visits to Southeast Asia demonstrate China's willingness to deepen relations and cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and is conducive to advancing China-ASEAN ties, Tang said.

The visits of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Li to Southeast Asia highlighted the priority the Chinese leaders put on improving and furthering China-ASEAN ties, and their commitment to enhance cooperation on trade, finance and infrastructure, Singapore's largest Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao said in an editorial.