China pledges $3.1 mln to Vietnam for Covid fight

Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday told his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son that China would give 20 million yuan, equivalent to $3.1 million, to Vietnam to buy medical equipment and other supplies and 500,000 doses of vaccines.

The two leaders were meeting at Huzhou city during the course of Son's official visit from December 2 to 4, a press release of Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The two sides also discussed economic issues, hailing the fact that despite Covid their trade in the first 10 months of the year was up 30 percent year-and-year and higher than the figure for the whole of 2020 at $133.65 billion.

Son called on the Chinese side to ease customs procedures for Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural products, at border gates to avoid congestion at the end of the year and increase the number of fruits Vietnam could export to China to help balance their trade and sustain their supply chains.

Speaking about border and territorial issues, the two ministers agreed to strictly abide by legal documents, coordinate to manage land borders, discuss and handle problems that could arise in a timely manner, and jointly build a border of peace, cooperation and development.

They also promised to continue to strictly adhere to their common perception of maritime issues and the "Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues" signed in 2011, and cooperate to settle disputes at sea and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, known in Vietnam as the East Sea.

They agreed to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties and negotiate to develop an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in accordance with international laws like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.