Chinese Prime Minister Li Kiang (left) with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 13, 2024. Photo Credit: AP
Vietnam and China on Sunday (Oct 13, 2024) signed 10 agreements ranging from agricultural cooperation to cross-border QR code payments during Chinese Premier Li Kiang’s three-day visit to Hanoi, as the two neighbors look to boost ties .
China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner and an important source of imports for its manufacturing sector, with bilateral trade rising 21% to $148 billion in the first three quarters from the same period last year.
The signing ceremony followed Mr Lee’s meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Mr Lee and Vietnam’s Communist Party chief, President To Lam, agreed on Saturday (Oct 12, 2024) to boost economic ties, agricultural produce cooperation.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked China to boost agricultural trade with Vietnam, open doors to Vietnamese agricultural produce and increase customs clearance at the borders, state broadcaster Vietnam Television (VTV) reported.
Vietnam and China also signed a document on updating progress on cross-border railway links related to site surveys.
“The Vietnamese Prime Minister also suggested the two countries cooperate to effectively implement the documents signed on railway links, modern railway development,” VTV reported.
Both Asian neighbors have repeatedly expressed interest in boosting rail connectivity but have not announced concrete plans or estimated costs to upgrade the connection.
The main route relies on tracks linking Kunming in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan with Hanoi and the Vietnamese port city of Haiphong. That railway was built by the French during the colonization of Vietnam more than a century ago and is still in use in Vietnam. China has replaced its route with high-speed connections.
On Saturday (October 12, 2024), Vietnam’s National Payment Corp and China’s UnionPay International signed an agreement to deploy cross-border payments between the two countries.
published – October 13, 2024 01:11 PM IST