Vietnamese Ambassador to China Nguyen Van Tho is paying a two-day working visit to China’s Guangdong province from May 13 to boost the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the province.

On May 13, Tho met with Hu Chunhua, Politburo member and Secretary of the Guangdong provincial Party Committee, during which they shared their pleasure at strong developments in bilateral cooperation in politics, economics, trade, science-technology and education, and mutual exchanges at all levels.

In 2012, two-way trade between Vietnam and Guangdong province reached 8.7 billion USD. In the first quarter of this year, the turnover hit nearly 3 billion USD, a year-on-year surge of 50 percent.

Ambassador Tho suggested the two sides continue maintaining exchanges at various levels, drastically implement cooperation programmes for 2012-2013, quickly set up the Shenzhen - Hai Phong economic and trade zone, and encourage big Guangdong businesses to invest in Vietnam .

He also proposed fostering cooperation in culture, education and training, tourism and people exchange and Guangdong province’s provision of more scholarships for Vietnamese students.

Tho’s proposals received the approval from the host provincial leader who also affirmed that Guangdong always attaches importance to the relations with Vietnam.

Hu Chunhua said he believes that under the common direction of the two countries’ leaders and the two sides’ cooperation tradition, the wide-ranging cooperation between Vietnam and Guangdong will grow further to generate practical benefits for both sides.-VNA