Vietnam pledged to boost “political
trust” with China during Premier Li Keqiang’s visit, as the two
Communist countries focus on building economic ties and calming
territorial tensions.
Li, who arrived in Vietnam yesterday, and Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung pledged to cooperate in all fields, including
growth and trade, according to a posting late yesterday on the
Vietnam government’s website, even as they remain in dispute
over waters in the South China Sea rich in fish, gas and oil.
The two signed a memorandum of understanding for a cross-border economic cooperation zone and agreed to open trade
promotion offices, the posting said, as the countries aim to
boost two-way trade to $60 billion by 2015. Dung also accepted
an invitation to visit China.
Li’s visit, the first since China’s leadership change,
“has great significance in boosting and strengthening political
trust and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two
countries,” the Vietnam government said on its website. “Since
the relationship was normalized in 1991, friendship and
cooperation between Vietnam and China has developed fast, deeply
and widely in all fields.”
A race for resources in the South China Sea, and a broader
push for influence in the region, has the bigger powers looking
to shore up relationships with smaller countries, with Chinese
President Xi Jinping visiting Indonesia and Malaysia earlier
this month. Dung warned at a forum in Singapore in late May that
miscalculations over territorial spats in the waters could
disrupt “huge” trade flows and have global consequences.
Trade Flows
Two-way trade between Vietnam and China was $41.2 billion
in 2012, according to a separate posting yesterday on the
Vietnam government’s website. Vietnam’s exports to China were
valued at $12.4 billion and imports at $28.8 billion last year,
it said, while in the first 8 months of this year two-way trade
was $31.8 billion.
The leaders agreed to establish a working group to explore
joint sea projects, according to the posting, which did not
elaborate on the location of possible development. The
Philippines and Vietnam have rejected China’s map of the sea,
first published in the 1940s, as a basis for joint exploration
of oil and gas.
In March, China fired on a Vietnamese fishing vessel,
sparking a protest from the government, and it has used patrol
ships to disrupt hydrocarbon surveys by the Philippines and
Vietnam. China pledged last week to avoid escalating tensions
while it works with Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct
for the waters, reflecting the softer tone it has adopted in
recent months.
‘Making Attempts’
“The overall bilateral relationship has gotten worse in
the past three years, mainly due to the increasing tensions in
the South China Sea,” said Le Hong Hiep, a lecturer at Vietnam
National University in Ho Chi Minh City. “The leaders have been
making attempts to minimize the negative impacts of the disputes
on the overall relationship,” Hiep said in an e-mail.
The two countries will make use of a newly created hot-line
to defuse territorial spats, according to the posting.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum
meeting in Bali last week, Xi said “the Asia-Pacific is a big
family and China is a member of this family.” “China cannot
develop in isolation from the Asia-Pacific, while the Asia-Pacific cannot prosper without China,” Xi said.
Power Plant
Vietnam and China will expand financial and monetary
cooperation, encourage financial institutions on both sides to
support trade and investment projects and enhance both nations’
ability to prevent financial and monetary risks, according to
the Vietnamese government.
China Southern Power Grid, in partnership with Vietnam
National Coal-Minerals Industries and China Power International,
is to receive an investment certificate to build a $2 billion
power plant located in the central province of Binh Thuan during
Li’s visit, the Vietnam Investment Review reported today, citing
an unidentified official with the Ministry of Industry and
Trade.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
John Boudreau in Hanoi at
jboudreau3@bloomberg.net;
Diep Ngoc Pham in Hanoi at
dpham5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Rosalind Mathieson at
rmathieson3@bloomberg.net
China’s Premier Li Keqiang Vietnam’s PM Nguyen Tan Dung
Khan/AFP/Getty Images
Li Keqiang, China’s premier, right, and Nguyen Tan Dung, Vietnam’s prime minster, review the guards of honour during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Oct. 13, 2013.
Li Keqiang, China’s premier, right, and Nguyen Tan Dung, Vietnam’s prime minster, review the guards of honour during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Oct. 13, 2013. Photographer: Khan/AFP/Getty Images
Vietnam Vows to Boost China Political Trust During Li Visit
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