CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin Visits Vietnam

Vietnam and China are linked by common mountains and rivers.

Both abut the East China Sea，

Our friendship faces the rising sun.

Drinking from the same river，

We see each other in the morning and the evening，

And hear each other’s roosters crowing at dawn.

Ah！

Sharing common ideals， our hearts are linked，

Red flags are fluttering over the road to victory.

The words of the song Vietnam-China vividly reflect the traditional friendship between China and Vietnam.

This is longstanding and well established after the two countries established diplomatic relations on January 18， 1950. In the long years of revolutionary struggle， the Government and people of China gave full military and economic support to Vietnam in its wars against France and the United States. Since then， the two countries have conducted extensive cooperation in the political， military， economic and cultural areas.

The bilateral relationship has not always been plain sailing， and there have been contradictions and even war between them. However， in terms of a thousand years of bilateral relations， there has been peaceful coexistence most of the time.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. At the beginning of the year， CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin paid a goodwill visit to Vietnam， starting a series of commemorative activities. From January 14 to 17， she paid a courtesy call on President Truong Tan Sang， met with Nguyen Thien Nhan， Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front， and Pham Binh Minh， Vice Premier and Foreign Minister respectively.

In the meetings， Li elaborated on China’s peaceful development and the importance of good China-Vietnam relations for regional peace. At the receptions celebrating the anniversary respectively hosted by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations （VUFO） and the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam， she stressed the importance of treasuring and further developing the traditional friendship.

She had a working meeting with Vu Xuan Hong， Chairman of the VUFO and Bui Hong Phuc， Vice President of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association， to discuss strengthening non-governmental exchanges， making plans for future people-to-people friendly cooperation. Li attended the signing ceremony of the China-Vietnam Non-Governmental Education Exchange Fund at Hanoi University and visited the construction site of the China-Vietnam Friendship Palace.

When Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang attended the APEC leaders’ informal meeting in Beijing in October 2014， he met Li Xiaolin， so their second meeting only three months later meant they were quite familiar with each other.

Li expressed her pleasure at being able to visit Vietnam for the anniversary celebrations and noted that she had just paid her respects to the remains of Chairman Ho Chi Minh and visited his former residence where she saw the books he had read. The leaders of the older generation of the two countries had defined the China-Vietnam relationship as one of “comrades plus brothers”. By comrades， it meant having similar ideals and beliefs and the two countries were brought together by a common goal； by brothers， it meant being part of one family. Thus， it was necessary to consolidate and carry forward this traditional friendship on the historical basis laid by the older generation.

Truong Tan Sang wished Li’s visit to Vietnam would be a success and recalled his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC Beijing Summit last year. He said that the Vietnamese side attached great importance to the development of bilateral relations and would as always cherish and develop this traditional friendship and the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. At the end of the meeting， Li presented Chairman Truong with a Chinese calligrapher’s rendition of the poem composed by Chairman Ho Chi Minh when visiting the Huangshan Mountains.

The meeting between Li Xiaolin and Vu Xuan Hong began with both recalling the traditional friendship between the two countries. Vu attached great importance to Li’s visit to Vietnam for the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations. He said he had a deep feeling for former Chinese President Li Xiannian and remembered that when Chairman Ho Chi Minh passed away， the former had come to Vietnam as a special envoy to offer condolences.

The relationship between the two parties and countries had deep foundations， having been forged and fostered by leaders of the older generation. In the course of development of the bilateral relations， the friendship organizations of both countries had done much good work. At present， they should carry out more activities to enhance mutual trust， said Vu.

Li Xiaolin told Vu that Chairman Ho Chi Minh had visited China many times during his lifetime and that the Chinese people treated him as a family member. She said that Chairman Ho liked to be in company with children and that when she was a child， she had taken part in some of the activities where he had been present， which left her happy memories.

She noted that， in recent years， the friendship organizations of both countries had cooperated in organizing a series of activities including the China-Vietnam Boarder Friendship Gala， the Friendship Gala of the Chinese and Vietnamese People， the China-Vietnam Bringing Light Tour， the visit to Vietnam by Chinese Aid-Vietnam veterans， etc.， and had done much to promote the friendship between the two peoples.

“China is committed to peaceful development and follows the principles of amity， sincerity， mutual benefit and inclusiveness in its interaction with its neighbors. China cannot achieve its development in isolation from them， and vice versa. We would like to take the opportunity of the 65th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations to maintain and further develop the traditional friendship and build a bridge of friendly exchanges between our peoples， especially between the youth to enhance mutual trust.

“To this end， we have suggested that， this year， the friendship organizations of our two countries organize tours in Guangxi to retrace the footsteps of Chairman Ho Chi Minh and remember the great achievements of and the militant friendship between the revolutionaries of the older generation.”

Vu Xuan Hong expressed appreciation for this suggestion. He said， during the war years， China was Vietnam’s vast rear area. Vietnam could not have won victory in its revolution without China’s support and assistance. He expressed happiness to see China’s achievements in its reform and opening up and spoke highly of the foreign policy pursued by the CPC since its 18th National Congress.

He hoped that， in the new situation， friendship organizations of both countries would strengthen cooperation and further solidify the basis of friendship between the two peoples to promote substantial development of the bilateral relations under the guidance of the principle of “maintaining long-term stability， looking ahead， deepening good-neighborly relations and carrying out cooperation in all aspects” and in the spirit of good neighbors， friends， comrades and partners.

In her short visit to Vietnam， Li Xiaolin made extensive contacts with the personages of Vietnamese political， government and various social sectors， recalling the traditional friendship， elaborating on China’s diplomatic principles concerning major-country relationship and its neighboring countries. She urged both sides to strengthen cooperation， expand common grounds， and make joint efforts to safeguard China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership so as to lay a sound foundation for the smooth proceeding of the activities marking the 65th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations.