The Vietnamese Embassy in China held a media briefing on Monday to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China, and also the Vietnam-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges.
Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Quang Vinh highlighted major achievements in the development of bilateral relations, and prospects for future development of pragmatic cooperation between the two countries, especially after Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Vietnam from April 14 to 15.
The ambassador said that the traditional friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood" has become a valuable treasure shared by the peoples of Vietnam and China. Since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China in 2008, and especially since December 2023 when both sides agreed to elevate their relationship and build a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance based on the "six mores" overall goals, bilateral relations have continued to make new breakthroughs, and achieved strong, comprehensive, and leapfrog development in various fields.
The "six mores" refer to stronger political mutual trust, more substantive security cooperation, deeper practical cooperation, more solid popular foundation, closer coordination and collaboration on multilateral affairs, and better management and resolution of differences between China and Vietnam.
"Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, wrapped up his state visit to Vietnam. Vietnam was also the first leg of Xi's first overseas visit in 2025. The visit set a new important milestone for the Vietnam-China good-neighborly friendship, comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the construction of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. Many fruitful results were achieved during the visit," Vinh said.
"Moving forward, both sides will focus on implementing the important consensuses reached by the high-level leaders. Efforts will be made to comprehensively advance cooperation in various fields, including maintaining frequent high-level visits and exchanges, promoting bilateral pragmatic cooperation in key areas to higher levels," he said.
The ambassador said that the rapid development of economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two countries has become a highlight of bilateral relations. China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner for 21 consecutive years, while Vietnam has been China's largest trading partner in ASEAN for 10 consecutive years. People-to-people exchanges between the two countries have also become increasingly frequent. This year, a series of celebratory activities will be held to strengthen people-to-people exchanges, especially among the youth, to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and China, and also the Vietnam-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges.
"The development of Vietnam-China relations over the past 75 years has fully demonstrated that seeking peace, friendship, cooperation, and development has always been the mainstream of bilateral relations. It is not only an aspiration of the peoples of the two countries, but is also where the fundamental interests of both nations lie," he said.
Vietnamese Embassy holds media briefing to mark 75 years of diplomatic ties with China
Refugees in the Gaza Strip are anxiously awaiting more truckloads of aid, goods, and basic supplies after the Israeli government on Sunday permitted a limited number of deliveries into the territory, following two and a half months of border closure that blocked humanitarian assistance.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday a decision to lift the blockade on Gaza to allow the entry of limited aid, as international criticism mounts over the severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
In a statement, Netanyahu's office said Israel will allow the entry of a "basic" quantity of food for the Gaza population to prevent a hunger crisis.
However, only five of the nine aid trucks approved for entry on Monday were able to cross into the Gaza Strip, carrying items such as nutritional supplements for children and other basic necessities.
Aid organizations are awaiting the arrival of flour, which has been critically scarce throughout Gaza. An estimated 100 trucks are expected to enter in the coming hours, but this remains far below the urgent need.
The Palestinians want more aid to enter as the situation is aggravation and their conditions are getting worse and worse by time, with Israel continuing its airstrike bombardments across the Gaza Strip.
"Instead of five trucks, 500 are needed to provide sufficient food for the Gaza Strip. Most people's health has deteriorated, they can barely survive. We want essential supplies like flour, rice and cooking oil to enter, without being tied to political conditions," said Iyad Hamad, a Palestinian refugee.
"Not even 30 trucks are enough, especially since everyone has kids, as for me, I have 10 family members. If they're going to distribute one kilo for each person it won't be enough. For the past three months, our entire family has been surviving on just one kilo of pasta per day, and if we're lucky, we can get somehow a bit of rice once a week. We've become beggars, almost picking up whatever we can find on the ground just to eat. The situation is truly tragic," said Moein Abu Harbid, another Palestinian refugee.
Another Palestinian refugee described the situation as catastrophic, saying food and essentials are so scarce that aid trucks have no meaningful impact on their desperate needs.
"None of us can find anything to eat. The five trucks that arrived won't even make a dent in the shortage, they might as well not come at all. Gaza needs at least 100,000 trucks to meet people's demand for just eating. We're living a catastrophe, there's no food, no water, no work, nothing to make us feel alive. We might as well count as dead," said Ahmed Fathi, a Palestinian refugee.
On Monday, 22 foreign ministers -- including those from France, Germany, Spain, Canada, and Australia -- issued a joint statement urging Israel to immediately allow the full resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza and to enable the United Nations and humanitarian organizations to operate independently and impartially.
The statement conveyed two clear messages to the Israeli government: first, a call for the complete restoration of aid access to the Gaza Strip; and second, a demand that the UN and humanitarian agencies be permitted to carry out their life-saving work with neutrality, in order to alleviate suffering and uphold human dignity.
UN agencies have reported worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza since the blockade was imposed on March 2. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported earlier in May that about 93 percent of Gaza's population was experiencing food insecurity, ranging from crisis to catastrophe levels.
Limited aid trucks allowed into Gaza fall short of urgent humanitarian needs
