China Vietnam Photo: VCG

 

The ministers of public security of China and Vietnam have agreed to enhance law enforcement cooperation and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on working together to combat cross-border gambling, a move that experts believed demonstrates mutual trust and deepening of common interests of pragmatic cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides made the pledge at the eighth China-Vietnam public security ministerial meeting on cooperation against crime in Beijing on Wednesday, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Wang Xiaohong, a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Minister of Public Security of China, stressed that China is ready to work with Vietnam to implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and deepen cooperation in political security and cybersecurity.

The two countries will also strengthen practical cooperation in combating crimes, strengthen coordination and cooperation under multilateral frameworks, and enhance law enforcement capacity building to make a new and greater contribution to the security and stability of the two countries and the region at large, Wang added.

To Lam, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese Minister of Public Security, said Vietnam is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges in law enforcement between the two countries, deepen law enforcement cooperation in various fields, and create a safe and stable social environment for the development of their respective countries.

"This practical cooperation shows the deep political trust between the two sides," Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Such institutionalized cooperation maintains the sustainability of bilateral cooperation between China and Vietnam, Xu said. "Additionally, the signing of the MOU also indicates that China and Vietnam can strengthen their joint efforts to face future challenges, especially in dealing with issues in the field of non-traditional security, and further deepen their cooperation," he said.

Also on Wednesday, Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, met with To Lam in Beijing, according to media reports.

Cai noted that both countries share common ideals, beliefs, and values, and China is willing to work with Vietnam to jointly consolidate traditional friendship, strengthen strategic communication, enhance political mutual trust and properly manage differences.

Cai called on the public security ministries of China and Vietnam to strengthen political and security cooperation, jointly crack down on transnational crimes, deepen cybersecurity cooperation, balance development and security, and strive to serve the construction of a strategic China-Vietnam community of shared future.

According to Xu, the high-level interaction and bilateral cooperation reflects the fact that relations between the two countries, from political cooperation to security cooperation, are getting deeper and more pragmatic.

It also reflects the deepening of common interests in their cooperation, Xu added.

US President Joe Biden paid a visit to Vietnam on Sunday. "I don't want to contain China," he said during a news conference in Hanoi shortly after US raised its ties with Vietnam to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership, as reported by media.

The cooperation between China and Vietnam is based on bilateral interests and enjoys a solid foundation, and does not target any third party, while the US' attempt to rope in Vietnam to contain China will not succeed, analysts noted.