Relations with China top priority: Vietnam

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept 13, 2016. (Lintao Zhang / POOL / AFP)

HANOI - "The stable, healthy and sustainable development of relations with China is always a strategic choice of Vietnam and among top priorities in Vietnam's foreign policy," Le Hoai Trung, Vietnam's deputy foreign minister, said Friday.

Trung made the remark in an interview with local Nhan Dan (People) online newspaper on the outcomes of the visit by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to China.

From Sept. 10 to 15, Phuc paid an official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

During the visit, Phuc held talks and met with Chinese leaders,  exchanging views on bilateral ties and issues of common concern. Phuc also attended the 13th China-ASEAN Expo in China's southern city of Nanning.

According to Trung, talks and meetings between Phuc and Chinese leaders were held in a friendly, sincere and frank atmosphere while numerous important outcomes have been yielded.

Such outcomes are shown in the main aspects, including enhanced political trust, boosted practical cooperation in all areas in a balanced and effective way and well management of differences and stabilized maritime situations, theVietnamese official told Nhan Dan.

While attending the 13th China-ASEAN Expo, Phuc sent a message of Vietnam's goodwill and role in further promoting practical and mutual beneficial cooperation between ASEAN and China, said the deputy foreign minister, adding that after the expo, Vietnamese firms have signed contracts worth over US$100 million.