Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Tuesday met with Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Mai Van Chinh in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with both agreeing to promote the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future.
The Vietnamese deputy prime minister visited Nanning to attend the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit which opened Wednesday.
Han said the two parties and two countries have maintained frequent high-level exchanges and reached important consensus on advancing the comprehensive strategic cooperation, charting the course for building the China-Vietnam community with a shared future under new circumstances.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the China-Vietnam People-to-People Exchange Year, he said.
Han said China is willing to work with Vietnam, under the guidance of the strategic common understandings between the top leaders of the two parties and two countries, to carry forward the traditional friendship, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, accelerate the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, and inject strong impetus into the socialist modernization drive of both countries.
For his part, Mai Van Chinh said developing friendly relations with China is an objective requirement, a strategic choice and the top priority of Vietnam's foreign policy.
Vietnam stands ready to strengthen high-level exchanges between the two parties and the two countries, deepen cooperation in various fields, and jointly promote the building of a Vietnam-China community with a shared future.
Chinese vice president meets Vietnamese deputy PM
Chinese vice president meets Vietnamese deputy PM
The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s former impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday was sentenced to five years in prison on arrest obstruction charges.
The criminal division of the Seoul Central District Court in charge of Yoon's obstruction of justice case handed down the prison sentence to Yoon for abusing the presidential security service to hinder the anti-corruption agency from executing its arrest warrant in January 2025.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) was once thwarted in its attempt to arrest Yoon as the presidential security service formed human shields and bus blockades to prevent investigators from entering the presidential residence.
The team of Cho Eun-suk, an independent counsel who led investigations into Yoon's insurrection and other charges, demanded a 10-year prison term for Yoon.
The court said Yoon privatized the presidential security service for personal safety and private interests by blocking the law enforcement agencies' lawful execution of an arrest warrant and attempting to destroy evidence, pointing out that despite the very bad nature of his crime, he consistently offered unconvincing excuses and showed no remorse.
The court stressed that severe punishment was necessary, considering the need to restore the rule of law damaged by Yoon's crime, but it noted that the fact that he was a first-time offender with no criminal record was considered a favorable factor.
The sentencing, which was broadcast live, was Yoon's first verdict coming from his botched martial law bid.
The first-instance sentencing for Yoon's insurrection charges was scheduled for Feb 19. The special counsel sought a death penalty for Yoon on the charges.
Yoon declared emergency martial law on the night of Dec 3 in 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.
The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon in April 2025, officially removing him from office.
The ousted leader was indicted while in detention in January 2025 on charges of leading an insurrection, becoming the first sitting ROK president facing such prosecution.
ROK ex-president Yoon sentenced to 5 years in prison on arrest obstruction charges
