Vietnam’s Government leader has affirmed that unceasingly consolidating and strengthening the friendly and comprehensive cooperative ties with China is a consistent, long-term and strategic policy and one of the top priorities of the Vietnamese Party, State and Government’s foreign policy.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the affirmation while meeting with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on September 20 after he arrived in Nanning, the capital of China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, to attend the 9th ASEAN-China Expo (CAEXPO) and China-ASEAN Business-Investment Summit (CABIS).

Xi applauded Dung’s attendance at the events, which, he said, shows that the Vietnamese Party and State attach importance to strengthening the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between Vietnam and China .

It also reflects Vietnam's support for CAEXPO and CABIS, practically contributing to the China-ASEAN cooperation, he added.

On the occasion of China’s 63rd National Day, the Vietnamese PM congratulated the Chinese Government and people on the great achievements they have made under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) over the past 63 years. He also wished the upcoming 18th National Congress of the CPC a success.

Dung said the 9th CAEXPO is a good chance for ASEAN countries and China to increase friendship exchanges and promote their strategic partnership.

The two leaders agreed that the Vietnam-China friendship, fostered by the two countries’ generations of leaders and people, is a valuable asset of the two Parties, States and peoples that should be inherited, preserved and developed.

Xi stressed that the Chinese Party, State and people attach great importance to the relations with Vietnam and are ready to together with Vietnam deepen their comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership.

The two leaders said continuously strengthening political trust is of great importance to both countries in the current situation.

They highly valued the outcomes of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to China in October 2011, Vice President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vietnam in December 2011 and most recently, the meeting between Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Chinese Party General Secretary and President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the 20th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Vladivostok, Russia early this month.

The two leaders reached a number of important common perceptions and specific measures to boost bilateral ties in the future, especially maintaining and increasing visits and meetings by the two countries’ high-ranking leaders.

The two sides will boost the practical and mutually beneficial cooperation in all aspects, particularly in economics and trade; strengthen relations between ministries, agencies and localities, and people-to-people exchange activities; enhance cooperation in regional and international issues; and promote communications on the friendship between the two peoples.

They also agreed on the need to persistently maintain peace and stability in the East Sea , satisfactorily resolve every issue through peaceful negotiations starting from the strategic high of the two countries’ relationship.

PM Dung stressed that the most important thing now is that the two sides seriously implement common perceptions of the two countries’ high-ranking leaders and strictly abide by the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues, as well as satisfactorily resolve disputes and newly emerging issues through peaceful negotiations, on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and in the spirit of the Declaration on Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC), advancing towards a Code of Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (COC).

On behalf of the Vietnamese Party, State and Government, PM Dung invited Xi to visit Vietnam after the 18th National Congress of the CPC concludes.

The Chinese Vice President accepted the invitation with pleasure, saying that the maintenance of high-ranking visits and meetings plays an important role in continuously strengthening and consolidating the relations between the two Parties, States and peoples.-VNA