ACC Led a Chinese Media Delegation to Hanoi

From 3 to 4 July 2016, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) led a Chinese media delegation to continue the reporting trip in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

On 3 July, the delegation had discussions with nine journalists and editors from five mainstream Vietnamese media outlets, including People’s Daily, People’s Army Newspaper, Viet Nam News, Viet Nam Economic Times and Viet Nam Pictorial, during which the two sides briefed each other on the media agencies they represented and had a lively exchange of views on economic and social development in China and Viet Nam, the influence of Chinese culture in Viet Nam, and the relations between traditional and new media.

Vietnamese participants noted that Viet Nam and China were geographically and culturally close. Viet Nam had high stakes in China's development. Most Vietnamese media groups followed Viet Nam-China relations closely and reports on China usually took a prominent position. China was an import importer of Vietnamese agricultural produce. It was hoped that the two countries would further strengthen economic cooperation and trade. The fine movies such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West which reflected traditional Chinese culture had influenced a generation of Vietnamese. Vietnamese people were fond of Chinese culture and could easily relate to it. With the fast development of new media, traditional media in Viet Nam were actively transforming themselves and developing their own APPs for mobile use to meet the need of consumers, especially the young readers. The two sides expressed hope for greater cooperation on personnel exchange, capacity building and reports, to strengthen their links and jointly contribute to the growth of ASEAN-China relations. The Vietnamese representatives also stated their interest in and desire for more information about the events during ASEAN-China Week held in May this year by ACC in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations. At their request, Ms. Cao Ting, Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations Division of ACC briefed them on the mandate of the Centre and the events held during the week. 

On 4 July, the delegation paid a visit to H.E. Mr. Hong Xiaoyong, Chinese Ambassador to Viet Nam. Ambassador Hong listened to the delegation’s impression of Viet Nam and their trip, answered their questions about the social and economic development of Viet Nam and China-Viet Nam relations. He stressed that China and Viet Nam were neighbors and their peoples shared affinity with each other. The two countries enjoyed close economic and trade links and great space and potential for cooperation. He said that he hoped Chinese media agencies would contribute their due share to China-Viet Nam relations and the friendly exchanges between the two peoples. Ms. Yin Haihong, Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Viet Nam, later had a discussion with the delegation and responded in detail to their questions about China-Viet Nam relations. 

On the same day, the delegation interviewed Mr. Dong Quang Vinh, a young Vietnamese musician. He talked about the bamboo ensemble “Suc Song Moi”, founded by him and his wife in 2013, and its cultural exchanges with China. He said that while developing the traditional bamboo music of Viet Nam, the music band also tries to absorb and integrate elements from Chinese music. It participated in the Asian Art Festival in Quanzhou, China in November 2015 on behalf of Viet Nam. The band wanted to continue to promote Viet Nam-China cultural exchanges. Dong played famous Chinese music pieces, such as Horse Race and Swan Goose with his bamboo musical instruments and left the delegation a beautiful memory.