Mr Nhan made the statement while receiving deputy head of China’s national committee for ethnicity, Yang Chuan Tang, in Hanoi on April 22.

Mr Nhan spoke highly of Mr Tang’s visit to Vietnam, which is aimed at increasing mutual understanding and promoting the exchange of high-ranking delegations between the two countries.

The Chinese guest thanked the Vietnamese government and people for their assistance to earthquake victims in Sichuan province in 2008. Since 1995 his committee has cooperated with Vietnam, with the aim of strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and China, he said.