Nations can solve maritime disputes through bilateral talks, says expert
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is on a six-day visit to China, vowed Sunday to maintain a convenient and stable investment environment with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and contribute to the regional peace and development.
But Chinese observers warned that, despite a stable relationship between China and Vietnam in general, disputes in the South China Sea still remain a problem between the two countries.
Nguyen made the remarks during an address to the opening of the 13th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Sunday, the China News Service reported.
China is the world's second-largest economy and one of the most important partners of ASEAN, which is also the third-biggest trade partner of China and one of the key destinations for China's investment, Nguyen said.
It is the first time for the key members of Vietnam's new leadership to visit China, Hua Chunying, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said at a regular press briefing on September 5.
Chen Xiangmiao, a research fellow at the National Institute for the South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times that although the Sino-Vietnamese relationship would remain stable in general, more disputes and contradictions would occur between the two nations as Vietnam is likely to heighten its efforts to safeguard its interests in the South China Sea.
"Vietnam is likely to get close to the US in order to counterbalance China in the South China Sea," Chen said.
However, Wang Xiaopeng, a maritime border expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that in the long term, it is possible for China and Vietnam to solve their disputes over islands and atolls and the maritime boundary in the South China Sea through bilateral talks.
Wang noted that economic cooperation was the main purpose of Nguyen's visit.
Nguyen said during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on Saturday that Vietnam and China share a friendly and brotherly traditional friendship, expressing the hope that the two countries can further enhance exchanges of high-level visits and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.
China's State Council has approved Pingxiang, a city in Guangxi on the border with Vietnam, to be a new opening-up pilot zone, Xinhua reported in August. The pilot zones were expected to play a positive role in promoting the Belt and Road initiative.
Exports of Vietnamese products to China are estimated to reach some $5.8 billion in the first four months of 2016, an increase of 16.5 percent year-on-year, according to Vietnam's General Statistics Office on Thursday.
In 2015, bilateral trade between China and Vietnam hit some $95.8 billion, a growth of 14.6 percent year-on-year, according to Xinhua.
