Vietnam and China have agreed to increase the exchange of visits and contacts between senior leaders and maintain close cooperation between the two Parties.

The unanimity was reached at talks in Hanoi on Dec. 21 between Le Hong Anh, Politburo member and permanent member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat and Nguyen Thi Doan, member of the Party Central Committee and Vice State President of Vietnam, and Xi Jinping, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Vice State President.

The two sides highly valued results of the seventh Theoretical Workshop between the two Parties, and agreed to accelerate the implementation of cooperative plans between the two Parties for 2011-2015 and strengthen cooperation between Party agencies, particularly in personnel training.

They also spoke highly of achievements recorded in each country’s renewal and open-door policy and expressed their pleasure with new steps of development in the two countries’ relations.

They also agreed to thoroughly grasp common perceptions and important outcomes reached during the visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in October this year, contributing to strengthening, building confidence and expanding future cooperation between the two Parties, States and peoples.

They were unanimous on increasing the role of the steering committee on Vietnam-China bilateral cooperation and promoting cooperation at levels and sectors while increasing people-to-people exchanges, particularly among youth.

They also agreed to further promote economic cooperation for mutual benefit on the basis of gradually narrowing Vietnam ’s trade deficit and eyeing a new target for bilateral trade for 2011-2015.

Vietnam welcomed China ’s commitment to provide new preferential credits worth 300 million USD to the Vietnamese Government for its construction of infrastructural facilities as well as in other cooperation areas.

They also agreed to increase cooperation in cultural exchange, health, education and training, science and technology, information and communications.

On this occasion, the Chinese side pledged to grant an additional 300 scholarships for Vietnam ’s personnel training in 2012.

Sharing views on the East Sea issue, the Vietnamese side affirmed its readiness, together with the Chinese side, to solve differences through peaceful negotiations, respecting and with concern about each other’s legitimate benefit, on the basis of common perceptions reached by the two countries’ senior leaders and international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), thus contributing to peace, stability, friendship and cooperation in the region.

The two sides agreed to instruct the two countries’ government-level negotiation delegations to strictly implement the Agreement on fundamental principles guiding settlement of issues on the sea.

At their talks, Le Hong Anh and Nguyen Thi Doan welcomed Xi’s official visit to Vietnam and expressed that the visit will contribute to further strengthening and developing relations between the two Parties and peoples.

At the end of their talks, they witnessed the signing of a series of cooperative documents on health, information and communications between the two countries and between youth leagues and agreements on China ’s provision of preferential credit loans to selected economic cooperation projects between the two countries.

Also the same day, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Truong Tan Sang and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung received the visiting Vice State President of China.

The Vietnamese leaders expressed their belief that Xi’s current visit to Vietnam will be a success, contributing to increasing the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between the two Parties, States and peoples.

They affirmed that the Party, State and people of Vietnam always attach importance to developing traditional friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperative with China , describing it one of the top priorities in Vietnam ’s external policy.

In reply, Xi affirmed that the Party, Government and people of China always places importance on developing relations with Vietnam, and will continue, together with the Vietnamese Party, State and people, to unceasingly promote the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, for the fundamental benefit and aspiration of the two peoples, for socialism, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large.

The Chinese Vice State President expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam and congratulated Vietnam on its socio-economic achievements.

He took this opportunity to convey the best wishes and invitation to visit China from Hu Jintao, Party General Secretary and State President, and Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, to President Truong Tan Sang and NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, respectively. The Vietnamese leaders accepted the invitation with pleasure.

On the same day, Xi Jinping paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his Mausoleum./