On the morning of March 21, 2013, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese President, held a telephone conversation with General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong.

Trong congratulated Xi on his election as Chinese president. Under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese people will definitely achieve the goals set at the 18th CPC National Congress last year and push the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics to a new high, he said. The Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese government attach great importance to the traditional friendship with China and are always committed to pushing forward inter-party, inter-governmental relations with China. Both the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese government hope to work with the Chinese side to push forward friendly ties forged by the older generations of leaders in both countries so as to benefit both peoples and contribute to peace and development in the region and the world at large, Trong said.

Xi thanked Trong for his congratulations. The healthy and stable development of China-Vietnam relations is of great significance to the promotion of socialism in both countries and also to the peace and common development of the region and of the world, Xi said. The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government view inter-party and inter-governmental ties with Vietnam from a strategic height and long-term perspective and will maintain high-level exchanges and deepen inter-party cooperation in accordance with the 16-word principle of long-term stability, orientation towards the future, good-neighborly friendship and all-round cooperation and the spirit of remaining good neighbors, friends, comrades and partners, said Xi. The Chinese president also said China will make active efforts to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation of mutual benefit; increase exchanges in culture, science and technology; and properly handle differences so as to contribute to the healthy and steady development of the China-Vietnam comprehensive relations of strategic cooperation and partnership.