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China-Asean relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Amid South China Sea tension, Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi urges Vietnam to help uphold Communist ideals

  • China’s foreign minister calls on Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang to contribute to keeping peace and stability in the region
  • China-South Asia Expo in Kunming also attended by senior officials from Sri Lanka, Nepal and Laos as Beijing attempts to strengthen ties in region

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Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang meets Wang Yi, director of China’s Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs in Kunming. Tran Luu Quang is attending the 7th China-South Asia Expo in Kunming. Photo: Xinhua
Laura Zhou
Beijing’s top diplomat made a direct appeal to Vietnam’s shared ideology with China as he urged Hanoi to prepare for a summit and prevent “interference” by external forces.
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As neighbours with similar ideologies, “the two sides should prepare for the next stage of high-level exchanges”, Wang Yi told Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang on Wednesday.

“[We should] jointly safeguard the security of the regime and institutions and jointly uphold the ideals and beliefs of the [Communist] Party and its socialist directions,” the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Wang as saying during talks in the southwestern city of Kunming.

At the same time, China would work closely with “Asean countries, including Vietnam … to oppose provocative interference by extraterritorial forces and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and the region”.

02:43

China and Asean renew agreement to develop code of conduct for South China Sea

China and Asean renew agreement to develop code of conduct for South China Sea
Tensions have risen in recent weeks over the hotly contested South China Sea after a Chinese coastguard ship fired a water cannon at a Philippine vessel to block it from carrying a resupply mission to the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands. It has triggered a diplomatic row between Beijing and Manila.
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China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is expected to resume negotiations for a code of conduct regarding the South China Sea in Manila next week. Vietnam and the Philippines are Asean member states and both are vocal critics of China’s claims in the waterway.
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