Vietnamese and Chinese leaders of Party, State, Government and National Assembly have exchanged congratulatory messages on the 61 st anniversary of establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties (Jan. 18).

The Vietnamese well-wishers are Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, State President Nguyen Minh Triet, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.

The Chinese well-wishers are Party General Secretary and President Hu Jintao, Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao.

On this occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, who is the Vietnamese chairman of the Vietnam-China bilateral cooperation steering committee, exchanged messages with State Council Member Dai Bingguo, who is the Chinese chairman of the bilateral cooperation steering committee, and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

The Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam , Sun Guoxiang, hosted a banquet on the occasion./.