On May 18, the first meeting of the Annual Meeting Mechanism between Secretary of Yunnan Provincial Party Committee of China and Secretaries of the four Northwestern provinces of Vietnam was held via videolink. Song Tao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, Ruan Chengfa, Secretary of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, Le Hoai Trung, head of the Commission for External Relations under the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, Dang Xuan Phong, Secretary of Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee, Dang Quoc Khanh, Secretary of the Ha Giang Provincial Party Committee, Giang Pao My, Secretary of the Lai Chau Provincial Party Committee, and Nguyen Van Thang, Secretary of the Dien Bien Provincial Party Committee attended and addressed this meeting. During the meeting, the two sides signed the minutes of the meeting.

Song Tao said, General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong have had three phone conversations since the beginning of last year, reaching a series of important consensus on China-Vietnam intra-party exchanges, economic and trade cooperation, people-to-people exchanges as well as cooperation at local levels, and charting the course of China-Vietnam relations in the new era. The establishment of the Secretary of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee of China and Secretaries of the Party Committees of Four Northwestern Provinces of Vietnam is a concrete initiative to implement the important consensus between the top leaders of the two parties to promote local cooperation between China and Vietnam. Both sides should take the establishment of the meeting mechanism as an opportunity to strengthen coordination and cooperation between relevant departments and local areas, effectively implement the consensus of the top leaders of the two parties and countries, and promote the development of China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation for greater results.

Song Tao pointed out, this year is of great historical significance for our two parties and two countries. The CPC is about to celebrate its centenary, and China has embarked on a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country. The Communist Party of Vietnam recently held its 13th National Congress successfully and started to move towards its first centenary goal. At the same time, the world has entered a period of turbulent changes due to the overlapping effects of the century with epidemic and changes unseen in a century. China-Vietnam relations are facing new opportunities and challenges. Standing at a new historical starting point, the CPC is willing to work with the CPV to develop, maintain and consolidate China-Vietnam relations, and to build more consensus and gather more strengths for the two parties and countries to achieve the goals and missions of the new development stage.

Ruan Chengfa said that against the backdrop of the crucial stage of socialist construction in both China and Vietnam, it is significant to establish the meeting mechanism. Yunnan Province is willing to work together with the four northwestern provinces of Vietnam to strengthen cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, people-to-people exchanges and the fight against the epidemic, and make China-Vietnam border cooperation a model for building China-Vietnam community with a shared future and make positive contributions to deepening China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation.

Le Hoai Trung and other Vietnamese participants warmly congratulated the CPC on its 100th anniversary, spoke positively of the great achievements of the Chinese people in the fight against the epidemic as well as economic and social development under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, and expressed the Vietnamese side’s willingness to work with the Chinese side to take intra-party relations as the guidance, make joint efforts to maintain peace, friendship and cooperation in the border area, and promote regional prosperity and development.

Guo Yezhou, Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, Chen Shun and Liu Hongjian, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, Xiong Bo, Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam, and Nguyen Minh Vu, Deputy Foreign Minister of Vietnam attended the meeting.

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