Vietnam's party, state and people always want to expand and deepen friendly neighborly and multifaceted cooperative relations with China in general, and with the Guangxi Autonomous Region in particular, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated here Thursday.

Vietnam supports initiatives and wishes of the two sides on various spheres, including the development of the "two economic corridors and one economic belt," key roads and railways, joint border economic zones and border committees; Vietnam's participation in the upcoming China-ASEAN trade fair; and completion of border demarcation, Dung said while meeting with visiting Liu Qibao, secretary of the Guangxi Autonomous Region Committee of the Communist Party of China.

"We support the construction and development of the 'economic corridors and one economic belt,' and we are ready to cooperate with China in researching and calculating their possible expansion to 'one axis and two wings,'" the Vietnamese prime minister said, stating that the corridors and the belt are beneficial to China, Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Earlier, Liu said the corridors and the Beibu Gulf economic belt, which involves China's southern areas and Vietnam's northern and central ones, are a starting point of one economic axis running from Nanning, capital of Guangxi, to Singapore, and two wings that include the Greater Mekong Sub-region and the Beibu Gulf.

Dung said the key to success of the corridors and the belt is the construction and improvement of highways running from Vietnam's Hanoi capital to northern Lang Son province bordering China, and from Hanoi to northern Hai Phong city and northern Quang Ninh province also bordering the country; and the development of rail routes.

Liu said that China wants Vietnam to develop the rail route from Hanoi to Lang Son and another from southern Ho Chi Minh City to Cambodia's Phnom Penh capital, and that China will offer Vietnam loans for the development of the two rail routes.

The Vietnamese prime minister said his country supports the establishment of border economic zones in border areas of Vietnam and China, especially ones in Lang Son and Guangxi.

Vietnam will send hundreds of enterprises to Nanning to participate in the upcoming 4th China-ASEAN trade fair slated for late October, Dung said, noting that he attended the two previous events.

"The organization of the annual China-ASEAN trade fair is very practical to the development of a China-ASEAN free trade area. It is beneficial to China in general, Guangxi in particular, and Vietnam," Dung stated.

He said Vietnam will promote the formation of joint border working committees which will help boost trade and economy in border areas as suggested by Liu.

Vietnam also wants to see the process of demarcating sea and land borders and planting of border marks going smoothly as scheduled, Dung said, adding that Vietnam would like to join hands with China as well as relevant countries in finely settling outstanding issues relating to the South China Sea.

Source: Xinhua