Chinese, Vietnamese leaders agree to promote ties

Beijing(China)—Chinese and Vietnamese top leaders agreed in Hanoi to comprehensively promote bilateral ties while adhering to the principles of long-term stability, future- orientation, goodneighborly friendship and overall cooperation.
Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese president, held talks here Thursday afternoon with General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nong Duc Manh and President Nguyen Minh Triet. They exchanged in-depth views during the talks on relations between the two parties and the two countries, as well as major international and regional issues of common concern.
Hu spoke highly of Vietnam’s achievements made by the Vietnamese people under the CPV’s leadership and said he hoped that the Vietnamese people will build the country into a modern socialist industrialized one at an early date. Manh said Hu’s visit demonstrates the Chinese side’s great attention paid to bilateral goodneighborly friendship and cooperation, and its support for Vietnam as the host of the APEC ( Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
Hu voiced his satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations and cooperation, and Manh expressed the Vietnamese side’s pleasure at the extensive and in-depth development of bilateral cooperation in such fields as politics, economy, trade, culture, education, youth exchanges, science and technology. Hu stressed that the Chinese side places much importance on bilateral relations and will work with the Vietnamese side to further promote their relations.
He made a four-point proposal for the further development of bilateral relations. The first is to safeguard the general situation of Sino- Vietnamese friendship by strengthening high-level contacts and increasing political mutual trust. The second is to stick to equality and reciprocity for common development and prosperity by expanding economic and trade cooperation, pushing forward cooperation in big projects, strengthening multi-lateral economic cooperation such as within the World Trade organization and the building of China-ASEAN ( Association of Southeast Asian Nations) free trade area.

—Daily Mail, People’s Daily news exchange item