Vietnam and China held the fourth round of negotiations on cooperation in less sensitive issues at sea in Hanoi from September 24-26.

The negotiations were in accordance with the common perception of Vietnamese and Chinese high-ranking leaders and the spirit of the Vietnam-China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues signed on October 11, 2011.

The two sides made in-depth discussions and reached consensus on the contents of two cooperative projects. One project covers joint research on the management of marine and island environment in the Gulf of Tonkin and the other will conduct comparative research on sediments dating back to Holocence epoch in the Red River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta.

They agreed to closely work with each other for the early signing of the two projects in order to start implementation within this year.

The next round of negotiations is scheduled to be held in the first half of 2014 in China.-VNA