A senior Chinese leader will visit Vietnam this month, China's state media said on Monday, amid tension between the neighbors over competing claims in the South China Sea.
Yu Zhengsheng, who heads a largely ceremonial advisory body to China's parliament but is ranked fourth in the Communist Party leadership, will be going at the invitation of Vietnam's Communist Party, the official Xinhua news agency said.
It provided no other details.
Anti-Chinese violence flared in Vietnam in May after a $1 billion deepwater rig owned by China's state-run CNOOC oil company was parked 240 km (150 miles) off the coast of Vietnam in the South China Sea.
Since then, though, China has sought to make amends with Vietnam, including sending senior officials to Hanoi.
However, the two countries clashed again this month after Vietnam submitted its position to an international arbitration tribunal, initiated by the Philippines, over the festering dispute that involves several countries.
Communist parties rule both countries and their trade has swelled to $50 billion annually, but Vietnam has long been suspicious of its giant neighbor, especially over China's claims to almost the entire South China Sea.
China claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, displaying its reach on official maps with a so-called nine-dash line that stretches deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.
Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to parts of the potentially energy-rich waters that are crossed by key global shipping lanes
China vows to boost ties with Vietnam along correct path
Xinhua, December 26, 2014
China's top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng vowed in Hanoi on Thursday to enhance high-level exchanges with Vietnam and promote bilateral ties along a correct path.
Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng (L) meets with Le Hong Anh, a Politburo member and standing secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, in Hanoi, Vietnam, Dec. 25, 2014. [Xinhua/Liu Jiansheng]
Yu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks while meeting with Le Hong Anh, a Politburo member and standing secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee.
Yu arrived in Hanoi earlier on Thursday for a three-day official visit to Vietnam.He spoke positively of Le Hong Anh's latest visit to China in August as special envoy of the CPV Central Committee General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, adding the visit has contributed significantly to the improvement of China- Vietnam ties.
High-level exchanges between the two ruling parties had played a leading role in the development of bilateral relations, Yu said.
"My current visit to Vietnam, commissioned by the CPC Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping, aims to enhance mutual trust, build consensus and boost progress of China-Vietnam relations in a correct path," he said.
China is willing to enhance communication with Vietnam, and deal with bilateral ties from a strategic view and long-term perspective, Yu added.
Le Hong Anh, for his part, recalled his visit to China which he said had achieved positive progress. He said both sides have the responsibility to inherit and carry forward their traditional friendship fostered by the older generations of their leaders, such as late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh and late Chairman Mao Zedong of the CPC Central Committee.
Vietnam hopes to further enhance high-level contacts with China, boost non-governmental exchanges and cooperation in various areas, he said.
He called on both sides to implement the consensus reached between their senior leaders regarding maritime issues, and properly settle their differences.
Le Hong Anh expected Yu's visit to further push forward bilateral all-round strategic cooperation partnership.
Yu is visiting Hanoi from Thursday to Saturday at the invitation of the CPV Central Committee and the Fatherland Front of Vietnam.
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China, Vietnam capable of managing differences
(Xinhua) Updated: 2014-12-26 09:55
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Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. [Photo/Xinhua]
BEIJING -- After twists and turns, China-Vietnam ties will witness signs of improvement at the end of the year as China's top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng starts an official visit to the Southeast Asian country on Thursday.
Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, makes the visit, the first by a Chinese top official this year, at the invitation of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and the Fatherland Front of Vietnam.
Following contacts between officials of the two countries, Yu's visit is expected to further mend bilateral ties after recent tensions. It also demonstrates common aspirations of the two sides to put their ties back on track at an early date.
In mid-May, a series of riots targeted foreign companies in southern and central Vietnam, leaving five Chinese nationals dead, around 20 foreign factories burned down, and some 1,100 foreign companies affected.
The violence came amid tension between China and Vietnam over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Despite the cacophony, Beijing has insisted on further improving bilateral relations with Hanoi, managing differences in a constructive way, and resolving disputes through friendly negotiations.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping said when meeting with special Vietnamese envoy Le Hong Anh in August, "a neighbor cannot be moved away and it is in the common interests of both sides to be friendly to each other."
With a common border, similar culture and high economic complementarity, China and Vietnam have conducted mutually beneficial cooperation, which produced fruitful results and brought tangible benefits to both peoples.
According to statistics, China has been Vietnam's largest trade partner for nine years in a row, while Vietnam has become China's second largest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
In this context, both sides should adhere to the right direction in handling their relationship, stick to good-neighborliness and friendship from a long-term and strategic perspective.
History is a mirror. China and Vietnam have successfully put the border clashes behind them and joined hands to embrace development opportunities and face common challenges in the past decades.
Thus, there is reason to believe that if the two nations, especially Vietnam, cast their eyes on improvement and development of relations instead of aggravating differences, benefits will not only be brought about to themselves but also to the whole region.