Briefly

CHINA

Senior officials to pay visit to Vietnam

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong and Defense Minister Dong Jun will visit Vietnam from Sunday to Tuesday for the first ministerial meeting of the China-Vietnam "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun has said. During the meeting, the two sides will hold in-depth talks on political and security cooperation, crime fighting, defense ties, and regional and international issues, Guo told a regular press briefing on Friday. While in Vietnam, Wang Yi will also co-chair the 17th meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation alongside Vietnamese leadership. The two sides will discuss specific measures to deepen the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future, with a focus on advancing cooperation in such areas as politics, connectivity, trade and investment, and people-to-people exchanges, so as to inject stronger momentum into regional stability and development through the stability of China-Vietnam cooperation, the spokesman said.

POLAND

President vetoes EU defense funding plan

Poland's dispute over European Union defense loans reached a pitch on Thursday as President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a multibillion-euro plan that parliament had already approved. Lawmakers in Poland backed the Security Action For Europe scheme last month, which would bring nearly 44 billion euros ($50.4 billion) in loans. "I have decided not to sign the law that would allow Poland to take out the so-called Safe loan. I will never sign a law that undermines our sovereignty, our independence, as well as our economic and military security," Nawrocki said in a televised address. As conflict in neighboring Ukraine grinds along, and with Russia and Belarus just across the border, front line Poland has upped its defense budget to 4.8 percent of its GDP, one of the highest in NATO.

China Daily - Agencies