Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was involved in a telephone call with General Secretary of the Communist Party China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping on January 22 on the occasion of the 64th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries.

General Secretary Trong congratulated the Party, State and people of China on their achievements in economic reform and development, enhancing the people’s living conditions and building a transparent Party and government over the past year.

The party chief also extended Lunar New Year greetings to Chinese people, wishing them more success in their cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

Wishing Vietnamese people a happy New Year, Xi Jinping, who is also President of China, affirmed that the Party, State and people of China treasure the traditional friendship and neighbourliness with Vietnam.

He applauded the success that the Vietnamese people have gained over the past year.

The Chinese Party leader briefed his Vietnamese counterpart on the major content of the third Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China.

The two leaders spoke highly of the progress of Vietnam-China ties in 2013.

They agreed on the key directions for the maintenance and promotion of the stable, practical and healthy development of the bilateral ties.

They sketched out a number of measures including enhancing high-level meetings, exchanging in-depth experience in national development and increasing cooperation coordination through the Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation.

They agreed that it is necessary to speed up and enhance the efficiency of the cooperation mechanisms in all areas, strengthening people-to-people connections, especially among younger generations.

The two leaders also reached consensus on the persistent coordination in maintaining peace, stability in the East Sea in accordance with the joint perspectives and agreement reached by senior leaders of Vietnam and China.-VNA