Xi hails Vietnam friendship

President, Hanoi's National Assembly chairwoman meet

China and Vietnam should implement the consensus of the two countries' leaders and maintain maritime peace and stability with practical efforts, President Xi Jinping said on Friday.

Xi made the remark while meeting with Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Vietnam's National Assembly chairwoman, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

During the meeting, Xi asked her to extend his sincere wishes to Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese president.

Xi said China and Vietnam are "friends plus comrades", and also a community with a shared future with strategic significance.

Noting that next year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam, Xi said that the two countries should stay true to their original aspiration, focus on the overall situation, develop friendship and deepen cooperation.

The two nations should make full use of the traditional advantage of party-to-party exchanges, deepen communications on the experience of governance, learn from each other's outcomes of theoretical innovation, maintain the vitality of the two parties and jointly promote the development of socialism, Xi said.

Xi called on the two countries to connect their development strategies, promote the connection of the Belt and Road with Vietnam's Two Corridors and One Economic Circle plan, upgrade practical cooperation and pursue win-win cooperation.

The two countries should enhance people-to-people exchanges and develop the bilateral friendship, Xi said.

They should strengthen coordination in international affairs and jointly safeguard the interests of the two countries, Xi added.

The cooperation of legislative authorities is an important part of bilateral relations, Xi said, and China's National People's Congress and Vietnam's National Assembly have maintained frequent contacts in recent years and achieved fruitful outcomes.

Xi said that the two countries' legislative authorities should strengthen exchanges and cooperation, make more efforts to guide public opinion and promote the mutual understanding between the people of both sides, and make more contributions to consolidate the public basis of the two countries.

The chairwoman extended the sincere greetings and best wishes of Trong to Xi. She said that the Communist Party of Vietnam, the government and the people always keep China's precious support and help in mind.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China Central Committee with Xi at the core, China will definitely achieve the important development goals set at the CPC's 19th National Congress, she said.

Vietnam would like to implement the consensus of the two countries' leaders, continue to support each other firmly in the path of socialist development, develop traditional friendship, deepen mutual and beneficial cooperation, handle disputes effectively, and promote bilateral ties to achieve greater development, she added.