On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam, Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei received a written interview of the Vietnam News Agency' Beijing Branch. The full text of the interview is as follows:
I. Q: This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam. Under the guidance of the principle of "long-term stability, orientation toward the future, good-neighborly friendship and all-round cooperation" raised by the leaders of the Communist Party of China and the country and their Vietnamese counterparts, what new progresses have been achieved in the relations of the two parties and the two countries?
A: China and Vietnam are linked by common mountains and waters, and the people of the two countries enjoy a long tradition of friendship. In the process of socialist construction, the two peoples show sympathy to and support for each other and have developed deep feelings.
We are glad to see that under the guidance of the principle of "long-term stability, orientation toward the future, good-neighborly friendship and all-round cooperation" proposed by the secretary-general of Communist Party of China and his Vietnamese counterpart, China-Vietnam friendly relations keep developing and scoring new achievements. The leaders of the two countries have reached a series of important common consensus on promoting the development of bilateral relations through regular exchanges of visit and contacts. The mutual trust of the two countries is growing, and the mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields is increasingly expanding and upgrading. The cooperation mechanism of the foreign affairs, public security and national defense authorities of the two countries has also been set up, and the theoretical research between the two communist parties and the youth friendship exchange programs between the two countries have also been institutionalized. The border issues left over from history are in the process of being solved, the land boundary survey is speeding up and the Demarcation Agreement on the Beibu Gulf and the Fishery Cooperation Agreement have gone into effect and been implemented steadily. The bilateral trade volume is witnessing rapid growth. We are satisfied with the major progresses of bilateral relations.
The facts over the 55 years since the establishment of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties show that China-Vietnam friendship is in the fundamental interest of the two countries and their people and also conducive to the peace, stability and prosperity in the region. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government always attach great importance to developing relations with Vietnam and will continue to follow the principle of "being a good neighbor and partner" and work with Vietnam to enhance mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and constantly push the China-Vietnam good-neighborly friendship and all-round partnership to new levels.
II. Q: Would you please comment on the current state and the prospect of Vietnam-China economic and trade relations? Do you think it is possible to realize the objective set by both sides to have bilateral trade volume exceed US$10 billion by 2010?
A: With the smooth development of the China-Vietnam political relations the bilateral economic and trade ties keep growing steadily and the bilateral trade volume has hit historical highs for several years. According to Chinese customs, the bilateral trade volume in 2004 reached US$6.74 billion, increasing by 45.3% over the previous year and reaching the objective of achieving US$5 billion of bilateral trade volume in 2010 in advance set by the prime ministers of the two countries. China's import from Vietnam also rose by 70.4% on a yearly basis. We are fully confident to realize the goal raised by the prime ministers of both countries to have bilateral trade volume exceed US$10 billion in 2010.
To support the economic and social development of Vietnam, China provides Vietnam with assistance and consessional loans based on our capacity. Although the amount is limited, it shows the friendly feelings of the Chinese people towards the Vietnamese people. Up to now the assistance and loans have produced sound benefits. The Thai Nguyen Steel Company and Bac Giang Chemical & Nitrogen Fertilizer Company of Vietnam have turned around, the Sin Quyen Copper Complex, Cao Ngan Thermal Power Plant and the "three lines and one hub" (Hanoi-Hai Phong, Hanoi-Dong Dang, Hanoi–Thai Nguyen) railway communication signal upgrading projects are speeding up. The negotiations over a number of large cooperative projects covering power station, fertilizer and light rail are accelerated. The planning of "two corridors and one circle" (Kunming- Lao Cai–Hanoi-Hai Phong, Nanning-Lang Son–Hanoi-Hai Phong, the economic circle around the Beibu Gulf) has been put on the agenda. I believe with the joint efforts of both sides the bilateral economic and trade relations will surely enjoy a promising future.
III. Q: What is the significance of the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to the development of regional and China-Vietnam economic and trade relations?
A: With the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area the tariff of the majority of products of the two sides will be lowered gradually or eliminated. To remove the non-tariff barriers and provide more favorable treatment to each other will effectively promote the bilateral trade in goods. The Free Trade Area will also cover trade in services and investment, which will enhance bilateral cooperation in those two areas. We believe that the establishment of the Free Trade Area will help consolidate and deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation, create a reciprocal and win-win environment for the development of both sides and make positive contributions to the economic growth in Asia and the world as a whole.
Currently China and Vietnam are negotiating on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and making discussions on cutting the tariff and non-tariff barriers. We are glad to see that the Early Harvest Plan launched on January 1, 2004 has made initial effects and benefited the two countries. China's import from Vietnam grows rapidly, and the imbalanced bilateral trade volume is being improved. It is believed that with the complete establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area China and Vietnam will definitely gain greater benefits.