Deeper Vietnam, Nigeria ties vowed
President Xi greets Thuong, Tinubu on their election, also hails 40 years of Cote d’Ivoire relations
President Xi Jinping vowed to further strengthen China’s relations with Vietnam and Nigeria as he congratulated the new leaders of those two nations. In messages sent to Vietnam’s new president Vo Van Thuong and Nigeria’s president-elect Bola Tinubu last week, Xi called for deeper cooperation and friendship for the benefit of all sides.
Meanwhile, Xi also exchanged greetings with Cote d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the African nation.
On March 2, Xi sent a congratulatory message to Thuong on his election as president of Vietnam, expressing his readiness to make joint efforts to enable the sustained, healthy and stable growth of bilateral relations.
China and Vietnam are socialist friendly neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, the Chinese president said in his message.
Xi noted that he had reached key consensus with Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, or CPV, Central Committee, last year on consolidating the traditional friendship, enhancing strategic dialogue and deepening win-win cooperation between the two nations.
He stressed that he attaches great importance to relations with Vietnam and is willing to work with Thuong to move toward the joint building of a bilateral community with a shared future that bears strategic significance.
Thuong, a member of the Politburo of the CPV, was elected as Vietnam’s president on March 2. The country’s top legislature convened a special meeting and elected Thuong with an approval rate of 98.38 percent, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
In a statement, Thuong vowed to be absolutely loyal to his nation, the people, and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and work hard to fulfill the duty assigned by the CPV, the state, and the people. He will serve until the term ends in 2026.
Thuong, who was born in December 1970, is the youngest member of the CPV Politburo.
In his official biography, his hometown is listed in Vinh Long province, part of the Mekong Delta. He has a master’s degree in philosophy and an advanced degree in political theory from the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.
Thuong started his political career in 1993, working on student and youth affairs, and became secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in 2003.
He was elected as an alternate member of the CPV Central Committee in 2006 and was appointed first secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in 2007.
In 2011, he was elected as a member of the CPV Central Committee and then appointed secretary of the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee, serving from August 2011 to April 2014.
He was the standing deputy secretary of Ho Chi Minh City’s Municipal Party Committee from 2015 to 2020.
Thuong was reelected to the CPV Central Committee in 2016, when he became a member of the Politburo for the first time. In 2021, he was elected as a member of the committee for the third time and became a member of the Politburo for the second time. He was also assigned to serve as permanent member of the CPV Central Committee’s secretariat.
Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned as Vietnam’s president on Jan 17 for personal reasons, and his membership of both the Politburo and the 13th CPV Central Committee was revoked.
The following day the National Assembly appointed Vo Thi Anh Xuan, Vietnam’s vice-president since 2021, as the acting president.
On March 2, Thuong took over as the new president.
Meanwhile, Xi also vowed to work with Nigeria’s incoming leader, Bola Tinubu, to advance the China-Nigeria strategic partnership to a new level as he congratulated him on his election as the country’s new president.
In a message sent on March 4, Xi called Nigeria a partner of strategic importance for China in Africa, saying the development of bilateral ties has maintained good momentum in recent years.
China and Nigeria have achieved fruitful results in practical collaboration in all fields, supported each other on issues that concern respective core interests and major concerns, and have closely worked with each other in global and regional affairs, he said.
Xi said he holds in high regard the development of the China-Nigeria relationship and is ready to work with Tinubu to advance the strategic partnership.
Nigeria’s electoral body on March 1 declared Tinubu, 70, of the ruling All Progressives Congress party, winner of the presidential election.
Almost 25 million people voted in the election on Feb 25, one of the country’s most hotly contested, and Tinubu won more than 8.79 million votes. His closest rival, the former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party, received more than 6.98 million votes, followed by Peter Obi, of the Labor Party, who secured about 6.1 million votes, Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission said in a statement.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor and senator, had been eyeing the presidency for years.
After receiving a certificate confirming him as president-elect, Tinubu asked for support from all Nigerians, promising to unite a divided nation.
“For this to be a victory at all, it cannot simply be a victory for one man or even one party,” he said.
The outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari hailed Tinubu’s victory, saying the results demonstrated the strength of democracy in Africa’s largest economy.
“Elected by the people, he (Tinubu) is the best person for the job,” Buhari said in a statement. “I shall now work with him and his team to ensure an orderly handover of power.”
On March 2, President Xi and Cote d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara exchanged greetings on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, with both leaders pledging to bolster bilateral cooperation.
In a congratulatory message to Ouattara, Xi said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties four decades ago, China and Cote d’Ivoire have always been sincere and friendly toward each other, providing mutual support on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns.
The two countries have become important friends and partners on the path of development and revitalization, he added.
Xi recalled a telephone conversation with Ouattara at the end of last year in which they reached new consensus on deepening bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Noting that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Cote d’Ivoire relations, Xi said he is willing to work with Ouattara to take the anniversary as an opportunity to consolidate mutual support, strengthen all-around cooperation between the two countries, and push bilateral relations to a new level to deliver more benefits to the two peoples.
In his message, Ouattara hailed the development of bilateral ties and said that the countries’ relations have maintained high-level development over the past four decades.
Ouattara expressed his gratitude for China’s consistent support for his country’s construction in infrastructure, energy, and other sectors.
Cote d’Ivoire is willing to strengthen cooperation with China and push friendly and cooperative relations, featuring solidarity, mutual assistance, close exchanges, and fruitful results for greater progress in a new era, he said.
China-Cote d’Ivoire relations have maintained sound development for bilateral ties and good partnership under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
When conducting cooperation with Africa, China stays committed to following the principles of sincerity, real results, amity, and good faith, and upholding justice while pursuing shared interests. It has been taking practical actions to implement the Global Development Initiative and the action plans of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and help Africa’s development.