Ministerial meeting of China-Vietnam "3+3" strategic dialogue held in Vietnam

The first ministerial meeting of the China-Vietnam "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security was held in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on Monday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong and Minister of National Defense Dong Jun chaired the meeting, together with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Defense Minister Phan Van Giang and Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang.

The two sides held in-depth exchanges on developments and changes in the international landscape, safeguarding political security, and advancing defense and law enforcement cooperation, and reached broad consensus.

Wang Yi emphasized that as friendly socialist neighbors, China and Vietnam should not only focus on the fundamental well-being of their peoples, coordinate development and security, and firmly follow their own development paths, but also embrace the common interests of all humanity, grasp the correct direction of historical progress, and jointly promote an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization through the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future with strategic significance.

The Vietnamese side stated that, given the rapidly evolving and increasingly unpredictable regional and international landscape, it has become particularly urgent for the two parties and countries to strengthen solidarity and cooperation in addressing shared challenges.

Vietnam is willing to work hand in hand with China to prepare for high-level exchanges, promote cooperation in various fields, and strengthen multilateral coordination to jointly elevate the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a higher level, according to the Vietnamese side.

Both sides agreed to hold the second ministerial meeting of the "3+3" strategic dialogue in China, and to deepen counterpart exchanges in diplomacy, defense and public security by fully leveraging the role of routine liaison between senior officials under the mechanism.

Ministerial meeting of China-Vietnam "3+3" strategic dialogue held in Vietnam

The Shenzhou-21 crew aboard China's orbiting space station completed their mission's second series of extravehicular activities (EVAs) on Monday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The astronaut trio -- Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang -- worked for roughly seven hours and completed their tasks at 19:35 (Beijing Time), assisted by the space station's robotic arm and a team on Earth.

Zhang Lu has so far carried out six EVAs, making him one of the Chinese astronauts with the most spacewalks to date.

The trio completed the installation of a space debris protection device for the space station along with other tasks. Zhang Lu and Wu Fei, who have conducted spacewalk operations, returned to the Wentian lab module safely, according to the CMSA.

Since completing the first series of EVAs on Dec. 9, 2025, the Shenzhou-21 crew has carried out equipment inspection and maintenance, environmental monitoring, and health management aboard the space station. The crew members have also conducted in-orbit training exercises, including rendezvous and docking, medical rescue, and emergency lifesaving.

The scientific experiment and test projects they undertook, covering space life science and human research, microgravity physics, and new space technologies, have been progressing steadily. They also celebrated the Spring Festival in Year of the Horse while in orbit.

The CMSA said the three astronauts have been working in orbit for more than four months. According to the mission plan, additional EVAs will be carried out by the crew during the Shenzhou-21 mission, with relevant scientific experiments and technical tests continuing as scheduled.

Shenzhou-21 astronauts complete second series of extravehicular activities