Xi eyes mended China-Vietnam ties

BEIJING, Aug. 27 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping called for joint efforts between China and Vietnam to mend bilateral ties after recent tensions.

Xi said during a meeting with a special envoy of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee in Beijing on Wednesday that China and Vietnam are close neighbors and both socialist countries.

"A neighbor cannot be moved away and it is in the common interests of both sides to be friendly to each other," Xi said during the meeting with Le Hong Anh, a Politburo member and standing secretary of the Secretariat of the CPV Central Committee.

Le Hong Anh arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day visit. Earlier on Wednesday, Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, held talks with him and they agreed to avoid actions that might worsen their dispute on maritime issues.

Under a three-point agreement reached between Liu Yunshan and Le Hong Anh, China and Vietnam will earnestly implement a basic guideline for the resolution of China-Vietnam maritime issues signed in October 2011.

They agreed to seek lasting solutions acceptable to both sides by focusing on making the best use of bilateral border negotiations, studying and discussing joint exploration of the South China Sea, avoiding actions that might complicate and expand disputes while safeguarding the overall stability of bilateral relations and peace in the South China Sea.

Xi said the bilateral relationship has been affected recently although overall it has gone well in recent years. The recent turmoil has "drawn high attention from the international community as well as the people of both countries."

In mid-May, a series of riots began at 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 the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

"That General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has sent you to China as his special envoy to attend the high-level meeting between the two parties shows the Vietnamese aspiration to improve the bilateral relationship," Xi said to Le Hong Anh, adding that he attaches importance to the message from Nguyen Phu Trong and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang.

"(I) hope the Vietnamese will make joint efforts with the Chinese to put the bilateral relationship back on the right track of development," said Xi, who is also General-Secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

The Chinese and Vietnamese governments should bear in mind the overall situation of the bilateral ties, increase interactions, deepen communication on major issues, look at the bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, and "especially, make correct political decisions at critical moments," Xi said.

Xi pledged that China will continue to adhere to a friendly, cooperative, future-oriented policy toward Vietnam to strengthen the relationship between the two parties as well as the two countries.

The two sides should cherish the traditional friendship, appropriately address their disputes and safeguard good sentiments between the people of the two countries, Xi said, stressing that the two sides should implement the consensus reached between Liu Yunshan and Le Hong Anh to improve the bilateral ties substantially.

Le Hong Anh said they will do their utmost and work together to maintain high-level interactions to enhance mutual understanding and trust, appropriately handle problems, and consolidate the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, "which is in the fundamental and long-term interests of the two nations and will help promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region."

They stand ready to implement the consensus reached on Wednesday to improve the ties between the two parties as well as the two countries, said the CPV official.