China and Vietnam reaffirm political ties in top-level call

China and Vietnam should work on developing stable industrial supply chains between the two countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday in a phone call with the head of the Vietnamese Communist Party.

In addition, Xi, who is also general secretary of China’s Communist Party, pledged in the call with To Lam to “promote the socialist cause”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

“The two sides should continue to strengthen the parties, deepen the exchange of socialist theory and practical experience, and promote the development and growth of the socialist cause in the midst of a century of changes in the world,” he said.

To was quoted as saying that he “sincerely admired” China’s achievements led by its Communist Party, and the “high-level priority” of Hanoi’s foreign policy was its relations with Beijing.

Beijing and Hanoi have played up ties between the two parties and mutual political trust, despite their overlapping claims in the South China Sea and US attempts to court Vietnam.