Beijing and Hanoi pledge agreement

Leaders aim to solve their differences over islands in South China Sea

China and Vietnam have pledged to work together to resolve differences over the South China Sea and to enhance co-operation between the two countries.

The pledge was made on Sept 12 when Premier Li Keqiang met visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Despite increasing bilateral trade, Beijing and Hanoi have competing claims over some islands in the South China Sea.

Phuc is leading an unprecedentedly large delegation of 132 members to Beijing during a six-day trip, his first to China as Prime Minister after a leadership reshuffle in Vietnam in July.

The South China Sea issue concerns China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, and both countries should work together to safeguard stability at sea by managing differences and promoting maritime co-operation, Premier Li told Phuc.

China is willing to strengthen strategic communications and high-level exchanges as well as expand people-to-people exchanges with Vietnam, Li said. He added that he hoped both sides could link their development strategies, advance cooperation at sea, on land and in finance, and enhance practical cooperation in various fields.

Phuc said Vietnam would properly handle maritime differences to solve the issue in a peaceful way, boost maritime cooperation in less-sensitive fields and maintain stability at sea. He also said the country would strengthen political trust, keep high-level exchanges and boost practical cooperation with China.

The two countries also signed nine agreements to boost cooperation in such fields as production capacity, infrastructure, education, cross-border trade and climate change.

Recently China and 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations released documents to apply the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea to the South China Sea and to establish a senior diplomats' hotline for maritime emergencies.

The agreements were signed after the 19th ASEAN-China Leaders' Meeting in Vientiane, capital of Laos.

China and Vietnam will manage differences over the South China Sea in accordance with agreements that both sides signed a few years ago and the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said.

Phuc said Vietnam believed that maritime disputes should be solved peacefully through negotiations.

He arrived in Beijing on Sept 12 after attending the opening ceremony of the 13th China-ASEAN Expo on Sunday in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Phuc also headed for Hong Kong on Sept 14 after meeting five members of China's top leadership.

From January to July, the trade volume between the two neighbors reached $52 billion and is expected to exceed $100 billion this year.

huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/16/2016 page14)