BEIJING — State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan on March 15 met with Pham Hoai Nam, commander of the Vietnam People’s Navy, with the two sides vowing development of military-to-military relations.

Chang said the two countries share the same political system and have similar development paths. The two countries are in a strategic community with shared destiny.

Chang added the Chinese army is willing to work together with the Vietnamese army to implement the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, and jointly safeguard bilateral friendly relations and regional peace and stability.

Pham Hoai Nam said the Vietnamese army, and especially its navy, is willing to work together with the Chinese army to consolidate bilateral friendly relations and make contributions to state-to-state and military-to-military relations.