The agreement was reached during high-level talks held in Beijing on May 17 between Chinese President Hu Jintao and his visiting Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet.

Mr Hu welcomed Mr Triet’s visit considering it an important event to help bring the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and China to a new height in line with the motto of “friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, long lasting stability and looking towards the future.”

Mr Triet reiterated the Vietnamese Party, State and people’s long-term and consistent policy of attaching great importance to developing the friendly and neighbourly relations and comprehensive cooperation with China.  

Host and guest agreed to increase the exchange of high-level visits to share theoretical and practical experience in Party building and State management and bring into full play the role of the Steering Committee for Vietnam-China cooperation. They agreed to finalise cooperation mechanisms and foster cooperation in economics, trade, science and technology, culture, education and sustainable use of water resources of the Red and Mekong Rivers. They also agreed to enhance information dissemination on the traditional bond between Vietnam and China among young people and increase exchanges between sectors and localities as well as mass organisations to promote mutual understanding.  

Vietnam wants to develop economic and trade cooperation with China, considering China one of its leading trade partners, said Mr Triet.  

The two leaders agreed to assign the two countries’ relevant agencies to discuss measures to develop their trade ties.

Mr Hu and Mr Triet expressed their pleasure at the signing of cooperation agreements and economic contracts between the two countries’ ministries, sectors and business circles during the visit, which they said marked a new step towards boosting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. 

They agreed to assign ministries and relevant agencies of the two countries to quickly implement the cooperation model “Two Corridors, One Economic Belt”, with priority given to developing transport infrastructure such as railways and expressways.

They pledged effectively assist each other in regional and international economic institutions, including the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The two leaders acknowledged the two sides’ progress in carrying out the land border demarcation and marker planting work and asked them to make further efforts to complete the work by 2008 as agreed by their top leaders.

They agreed to speed up negotiations on the delineation of the territorial waters in the Bac Bo (Tonkin) Gulf and continue to exchange views on cooperation and development in the area while maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea.

They highly valued the close coordination between the two countries’ relevant agencies at regional and international forums such as the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). 

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of six agreements on economic and trade cooperation.

In the evening, President Hu held a banquet in honour of Mr Triet and his entourage.

Also in the afternoon, Mr Triet met with chairman of the China National People’s Congress Wu Bangguo. Mr Triet expressed his satisfaction at the close and effective cooperation between the two legislative bodies and hoped that such cooperation will further develop to foster the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

As Vietnam is regularly finalising the building of the law-governed socialist state of the people, by the people and for the people, it wants to learn from China’s experience, said Mr Triet. 

Mr Wu expressed his hope that Mr Triet’s visit will bring the relations of friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries to a new height, particularly in economics, trade and investment. 

The National People’s Congress of China will coordinate closely with the National Assembly of Vietnam to help implement agreements reached by the two governments.