Vietnamese economy greatly open, full of vitality: Chinese Ambassador
Hanoi, The Gulf Observer: Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo has highlighted the significance of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and their cooperation prospects for 2023.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of New Year 2023, he quoted late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh as saying that Vietnam and China are “both comrades and brothers”.
“We are comrades who share the same sense of purpose and also close brothers,” the ambassador said, stressing the profound meaning of the word “brothers” thanks to cultural similarities, including Tet customs, between the two peoples.
Xiong noted Tet is a traditional festival of the Vietnamese and Chinese peoples, and the two countries’ Tet celebrations are highly similar. Whenever the Lunar New Year comes, the Tet atmosphere will spread across Hanoi, from big streets to small alleys, bringing about close and familiar feelings to him through similar customs: family reunion in year-end parties and New Year visits to pagodas.
However, there are also some differences as 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit in China but the Year of the Cat in Vietnam, he added.
The rich histories and special traditional cultures of China and Vietnam have contributed to the Eastern culture and civilisation. Likewise, New Year celebration customs in Japan and the Republic of Korea are also part of the Eastern culture, and it is necessary to treasure and further bring into play the role of the Eastern culture in the world’s civilisation, according to the diplomat.
