Chinese Premier Li Qiang wrapped up a three-day visit to Vietnam on Monday after meetings with the country’s top leaders resulted in agreements to work more closely developing transport infrastructure, technology, training and emerging industries, state media reported.
Vietnamese leaders also called on Li to ensure China respected international laws in order to peacefully resolve territorial disputes, which have flared up in recent weeks.
During the first trip to Vietnam by a Chinese premier in 11 years and his first official visit since taking the position, Li held talks with Communist Party General Secretary and President To Lam, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who hold the Vietnamese government’s four most powerful positions.
On Sunday, Li and Chinh hosted a business forum in Hanoi, attended by executives from both countries.
China is the biggest investor in Vietnam in terms of projects and the fourth largest in terms of capital at US$4.5 billion in 2023, but Chinh told business leaders they needed to invest more to live up to the strong political and social ties between the two countries, according to the Vietnam News Service .
Chinh said the Chinese and Vietnamese governments would promote key areas such as infrastructure links, technology transfer, personnel training and investment in emerging industries.
China's Li called on entrepreneurs to "actively follow the general trend, better seize opportunities and further strengthen cooperation for greater development of their own businesses and contribute to the common development of the two countries," according to China's Xinhua News Agency.
After talks at Hanoi's Presidential Palace on Sunday, Li and Chinh witnessed the signing of 10 agreements covering areas including transport connectivity, agriculture and banking, the Bao Chinh Phu news site reported.
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Bilateral relations have been strained in recent weeks after Vietnamese fishermen said they had been chased and attacked by Chinese ships while fishing in the disputed waters of the Paracel Islands on Sept. 29. They said scores of camouflaged men boarded their boat, breaking the arms and legs of several crew members with iron bars, prompting a protest from Vietnam's foreign ministry over "brutal treatment by Chinese law enforcement forces."
China claims most of the South China Sea, and its territorial claims led to a violent clash with Vietnam over the Paracels in 1974, anti-Chinese protests by Vietnam's No U Movement in the 2010s, and Vietnamese criticism of China's "excessive" claims after Beijing extended its baseline in the part of the Gulf of Tonkin it shares with Vietnam in March, 2024.
Li and Chinh "exchanged sincere and frank opinions on maritime issues," during Sunday's meeting, the Bao Chinh Phu said, adding that the Vietnamese prime minister suggested the two sides resolve disputes peacefully in accordance with international laws such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.
Chinh’s comments echoed those of General Secretary and President To Lam when he met with Li on Saturday. Li and Lam agreed to cooperate more closely on defense, security and foreign affairs, Vietnamese media reported.
Edited by Taejun Kang.