Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo is on a working visit to Vietnam to attend the fifth session of the Steering Committee for Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation, which was held in Hanoi on September 6.

At his reception, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong highly valued the results of the fifth session of the bilateral cooperation steering committee, saying that this is an important, efficient cooperative mechanism and needs to be promoted in the future.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the Party leader expressed his wish that two sides through peaceful talks and friendly negotiations would exert efforts to seek satisfactory measures, creating favourable conditions for the further development of the Vietnam-China friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation.

The State Councilor said the Chinese leaders had invited General Secretary Trong to visit China soon.

Meanwhile, at his reception, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, State and people’s wish to join efforts with the Chinese Party, State and people to deepen the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.

This brings practical benefits to both countries’ people, contributing to peace, stability, comprehensive cooperation and development in the region, the PM said.

Regarding the border issue, PM Dung spoke highly of results the two sides had reached in implementing three documents relating to the shared land border, contributing to building a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.

On the East Sea issue, he said that through discussions, the two sides clearly understood their stances and differences between the two sides an objective reality.

The two sides should seek long lasting fundamental solutions acceptable to both sides through frank dialogue, respect and mutual trust, and on the basis of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, he said.

They should accelerate talks for early signing an agreement on the basic principles steering settlement of issues on the sea, creating a basis for both sides to resolve specific East Sea issues.

Chinese State Councilor Dai shared PM Dung’s views and proposed that in the spirit of fraternity and comradeship, the two sides promptly negotiate and discuss issues of differences in the East Sea to seek fundamental, long lasting and mutually acceptable solutions.