Vietnam, China to hold 8th border defense friendship exchange in September

The Vietnamese delegation will be led by Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defense. Li Shangfu, a State Councilor and Minister of National Defense of China, will lead the Chinese side to the event, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense told a press briefing in Hanoi on Tuesday.

On Sept. 7, activities will take place in Vietnam, including a welcome ceremony for the Chinese delegation at the Lao Cai International Border Gate, a border marker saluting ceremony, the planting of commemorative trees, the launch of work on a friendship house of culture in Ban Phiet Commune of Bao Thang District, a visit to and presentation of gifts to the Kim Dong Primary School in Lao Cai City, and the talks between the two delegations.

China will host others on Sept. 8, including a welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation at the Hekou International Border Gate, a border marker saluting ceremony, the planting of commemorative trees, a visit to a military unit/a school in the Hekou area, and a bilateral seminar.

Prior to the exchange, other activities will be organized, such as providing free health examinations and medicine for border residents, presenting scholarships to 50 students from poor families and heifers to disadvantaged households. The authorities will also review the twin relationship between border communities and the coordination between the border guard post of the Lao Cai International Border Gate and the Hekou border guard unit of Yunnan's Mengzi region.

The ministry said the eighth border defense friendship exchange aims to help implement the Vietnam - China joint statement on the continued promotion and intensification of their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, issued during an official visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in November 2022, thereby helping strengthen mutual trust and cooperation between the two Parties, States, and defense ministries.

It is also one of important diplomatic activities between the countries' defense ministries this year, with a view to promoting the friendship, solidarity, and substantive cooperation between their border defense forces, administrations of border localities, and local residents so as to build a joint border of peace, friendship, stability, cooperation, and development, the ministry added.

The first exchange was held in Vietnam Quang Ninh's Province and China's Guangxi Province in 2014.