Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao have shown their resolve to meet the goal of raising two-way trade to US$25 billion in 2010, alongside keeping trade balance and increasing cooperation between their border localities.

Premier Wen Jiabao (R) welcomes PM Nguyen Tan Dung to Boao Forum in Hainan province.

The two PMs exchanged views on the global financial meltdown, the development of bilateral relations and measures to realise the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership.

Premier Wen welcomed Mr Dung to the Boao forum and his later visits to Guangdong province and Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

The Party, Government and people of China attach great importance to developing ties with Vietnam, said Mr Wen.

He highly valued measures Vietnam has adopted to curb the economic downturn and sustain the macro economy, and expressed his belief that Vietnam will soon surmount its difficulties and move forward.

For his part, PM Dung acknowledged the efforts made by the Chinese government and the Hainan provincial administration in hosting the forum, saying the event creates a good chance for participating countries to seek measures to ride out the current global financial turbulence. He expressed his hope that with its past experiences and effective solutions currently put in place, China would be the first country to overcome the global crisis.

Both host and guest expressed their pleasure at the positive developments in bilateral relations in recent times and welcomed the results of the 3rd session of the Vietnam-China steering board for bilateral cooperation held in Hanoi last month.

They agreed that the two countries should maintain the exchange of high-level visits, considering it a crucial factor behind the development and stability of Vietnam and China. They also agreed to seek rational solutions to solve pending territorial and border issues through friendly consultations and in the spirit of comradeship.

They decided to observe 2010 as Vietnam-China Friendship Year to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. They said they will direct their relevant ministries and agencies to work closely to carry out activities for the celebrations

PM Dung invited Mr Wen to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time and the invitation was accepted with pleasure.

Sidelines meetings

The same day, PM Dung received Wei Liucheng, Secretary of the Hainan provincial Party Committee, and Hainan governor Luo Baoming.

They discussed the establishment of a cooperation mechanism between Hainan and relevant Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities to increase cooperation in economics, trade, tourism and transport. They agreed to work closely to effectively implement the “Two corridors and one economic beltway” programme, as well as the agreements on border delineation and fishing cooperation in the Bac Bo (Tonkin) Gulf.

Mr Dung said that he expects Mr Wei’s visit to Vietnam this June and believes that the visit will help strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation between Vietnamese localities and Hainan.

For his part, Mr Wei said that Hainan wants to promote the comprehensive and mutually beneficial cooperation with Vietnamese localities.

Hainan will do its utmost to become a good partner and good neighbour of Vietnamese localities, contributing to the development of the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between the two countries.

After the reception, Mr Dung and Hainan leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement on tourism cooperation between Quang Ninh province and Hainan province, and several business deals.

PM Dung also received Guo Shengkun, Secretary of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region’s Party Committee.

Mr Dung said he is satisfied with the recent developments in relations between Guangxi and Vietnamese localities. He acknowledged the Chinese province’s contributions to the completion of the border demarcation and landmark planting between Vietnam and China and expressed his belief that Guangxi will cooperate closely with Vietnamese border provinces to effectively implement agreements signed between the two countries’ top leaders in order to build a common borderline of peace, stability and development.

He underlined the need to increase two-way trade exchange and maintain regular meetings of the joint working committee between three Vietnamese border provinces and Guangxi. He thanked Guangxi for encouraging its businesses to invest in big projects in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese PM congratulated Guangxi on its successful hosting of the recent 5th ASEAN-China Expo and said that the Vietnamese Government will encourage more businesses to attend the 6th expo scheduled for later this year.

Secretary Guo assured his guest that his province will work closely with Vietnamese border provinces to realize the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between China and Vietnam.

VietNamNet/VOV