Vietnam wants stronger bonds with China: party leader

Vietnam would like to broaden and deepen multifaceted ties with China, including investment promotion and experience sharing, Vietnamese top party leader said Wednesday.

Nong Duc Manh, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, made the statement when Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Qi Jianguo met him before leaving Vietnam.

"We are jointly promoting our relations so that they are becoming closer and closer," Manh said. He wanted to see stronger bilateral ties in different fields, including politics, economy, culture, science, technology and defense.

"We would like China with its great potential to have more large projects in Vietnam. Projects in infrastructure development, in economic development, in science and in trade," the general secretary stated, noting that two-way trade is expected to surpass 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, up from 8 billion dollars in 2005.

He said Vietnam also wants to share experience regarding practice and theory of socioeconomic development with China. "We consider China a shining example in national construction, especially in reform and opening-up."

For his part, the Chinese ambassador said China will keep on fostering ties with Vietnam as well as other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Qi said that the bilateral comprehensive relations have entered a new development period after Chinese President Hu Jintao paid an official visit to Vietnam, and his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Duc Luong toured China last year.

China would like to have closer investment and trade ties with Vietnam, especially to implement large projects in such fields as mining, metallurgy and infrastructure in the country, he said.

Source: Xinhua