A get together was held in Ho Chi Minh City on January 15 to mark the 64th anniversary of Vietnam-China diplomatic ties, which falls on January 18, and to welcome the 2014 Lunar New Year.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association’s HCM City chapter Duong Quan Ha said over more than six decades, the two countries’ friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance have overcome many challenges to develop comprehensively, contributing to each country’s success in its national defence and construction.

In recent years, the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China has been unceasingly consolidated and developed, which can be seen clearly in the regular exchange of delegations; developing economic, trade, investment and enhanced people-to-people exchange, Ha added.

For his part, Chai Wenrui, Chinese Consul General in HCM City, said the two countries should continue to respect their time-honoured and profound friendship in the coming time.

Vietnam and China have witnessed rapid development in economic and trade cooperation in the recent past. Last year, two-way trade value surpassed 60 billion USD and is expected to reach 100 billion USD by 2017.-VNA