Vietnamese officials see Belt and Road Initiative important platform for cooperation

HANOI, Nov. 14 -- The Belt and Road Initiative has witnessed pragmatic achievements over the past five years and has become an important platform for cooperation between Vietnam and China, Vietnamese officials said on Wednesday.

A symposium on the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Vietnam Cooperation was jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

Assistant to the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Van Thao and director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam Ngo Vu Tung delivered speeches at the symposium.

According to them, the current international situation has undergone profound and complex changes, and the interests of various countries have become more closely intertwined.

In this context, strengthening mutual understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation between Vietnam and China is conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

Proposed by China in 2013, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes.

Chinese Ambassador Xiong Bo pointed out that it is China's important measure to implement a new round of high-level opening-up, which reflects China's insistence on opening-up and its determined position of firmly supporting economic globalization, the multilateral trading system, and free trade.

According to the ambassador, China-Vietnam cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and the "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan has unique advantages.

China is willing to work with Vietnam to implement the consensus reached by leaders of the two parties and countries, and to expand cooperation between China and Vietnam under the framework of the initiative and the "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan, he said.

Hu Zhengyue, vice president of the China Public Diplomacy Association, said in his keynote speech that the initiative is based on the principle of equality and mutual benefit, with the goal of win-win cooperation, openness and inclusiveness.

The initiative has received a lot of positive response and support, he said, noting that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an important participant of its construction.

In the last five years, many large-scale projects have been incorporated into the Belt and Road cooperation framework, and more pragmatic cooperation is being actively explored.

It is believed that with the advantages of the two sides in the fields of politics, institution, geography, market and humanities, China and ASEAN will achieve greater results in Belt and Road cooperation, Hu said.

Some 80 representatives from China and Vietnam attended the event.