NA President’s China visit to drive high-level strategic exchanges: Expert

Beijing (VNA) – National Assembly President Tran Thanh Man’s official visit to China and co-chairing of the second session of the two legislatures’ Cooperation Committee marks an important mechanism to realise the common perceptions by their high-ranking Party leaders and complete the chain of high-level exchanges of significant strategic value.

It was stated by journalist Wei Wei, a Vietnam studies expert and head of the Vietnamese language service of China Media Group in an interview recently granted to Vietnam News Agency reporters based in Beijing.

Wei said the visit, from October 11 to 15, will consolidate political trust between the two legislatures and open more channels to convey strategic common understandings. Both countries are socialist states, and parliamentary exchanges complement top-level strategic contacts.

The session aims to carry the two Party chiefs’ shared vision of a Vietnam-China Community with a shared future of strategic significance down to the parliamentary level. The two sides will share experience in state governance, democracy building and the rule of law. They will also reaffirm core political stances, including mutual respect, adherence to the one-China principle, and proper management and settlement of differences. The goal is to keep bilateral ties on a steady, correct course.

The trip will also give economic and trade ties, connectivity and emerging industries a firmer legal footing. Two-way trade remains above 250 billion USD, and industrial and supply chains are growing more closely linked.

Lawmakers will focus on cross-border trade, customs clearance, digital economy, new energy and agriculture. They will seek to clear institutional barriers and speed delivery of cooperation agreements. The Cooperation Committee mechanism should also help refine laws on investment protection, border cooperation and intellectual property, among others.

Wei said the visit will also widen and deepen people-to-people exchanges. The two sides will use the Cooperation Committee to propel regular contacts among local elected bodies, youth, media outlets and cultural establishments, while carrying forward the shared revolutionary heritage. That should improve mutual understanding, particularly among the youth. He stressed the role of legislatures in strengthening the popular base for bilateral friendship and rooting it more firmly among their people.

He said the outcomes of NA President Man’s visit and the second session will give the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership new momentum in institutional mechanisms, substantive cooperation and regional coordination. That, in turn, will advance the building of the Vietnam-China Community.

First, the two sides will upgrade regular cooperation mechanisms between their legislatures and complete the institutional framework of ties. The session will lock in a regular, long-term dialogue between the National People’s Congress of China and the Vietnamese NA. It will create a multi-tiered network linking senior leaders, Governments, legislatures, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference with the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

As a specialised forum, the Cooperation Committee can serve as a regular platform to discuss major bilateral issues and conduct oversight-level exchanges on border management, security and trade cooperation. That will create a full cycle running from “high-level shared understandings – institutionalisation through legislation – local delivery”.

Second, both sides will raise the quality of cooperation across fields to unlock shared development gains. Building on the parliamentary dialogue, they will push ahead with upgrades to border gates, cross-border logistics, agricultural trade and industrial chain cooperation in manufacturing.

In emerging areas such as the “new-generation three new products” and digital economy, the legislatures can speed up coordinated supportive policies, draw more two-way corporate investment and expand cooperation among border provinces, lifting incomes in border areas. Legislative coordination will also help settle trade disputes and improve the business climate, so that gains from trade and investment reach more people in both countries, he said.

Third, they will bolster regional multilateral coordination to maintain peace and stability. With the regional landscape complex and unpredictable, the legislatures will align their stances and keep talking on regional issues within ASEAN and other frameworks. They will rely on dialogue and consultation to properly manage and settle differences.

The two sides will work to uphold ASEAN centrality, support each other in multilateral mechanisms, jointly advance the interests of developing countries, foster a peaceful, secure and supportive environment for development, and boost joint work in regional issues, Wei added./.