The relations between China and Vietnam have maintained a good momentum of development and Chinese President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit will promote the friendly ties to a new high, said both Chinese and Vietnamese officials.

The growth of Sino-Vietnamese relations is "generally good," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said in Beijing on Thursday, noting that the continuous consolidation and enhancement of the friendly ties between the two countries conform to the fundamental interests of the two peoples.

Hu, who is also General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), will start his three-day official goodwill visit to Vietnam on Monday at the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nong Duc Manh and Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong.

Hu will hold with Manh and Luong talks, which are expected to cover "a wide range of issues," Kong said.

China hopes the visit will play a due role in further implementing the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, enhancing bilateral cooperation and uplifting bilateral ties to a new high, he added.

Under the principle of "long-term stability, future orientation, good-neighborly friendship and all-around cooperation" set by leaders of the two countries, the Sino-Vietnamese relations have made remarkable progress in various fields over the past few years.

The two neighbors, which have had a rocky past due to territory disputes, are attaching great importance to their friendly relations and agree to settle issues left over by history through dialogue.

On Aug. 2 this year, the two countries reached an agreement to speed up the demarcation of the shared border and erect markers to delineate the boundary, aiming to complete the work by 2008 at the latest.

On Wednesday, Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan and his visiting Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Van Tra, agreed in Beijing on joint military patrols of the Beibu Bay by the two countries, marking a milestone in the relations.

China, Vietnam, together with the Philippines, have reached a cooperative agreement on the joint exploration of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea.

The three nations also have signed a treaty on regional cooperation on earthquake warning in the South China Sea, helping turn it into an area of peace, stability, cooperation and development.

The frequent high-level exchanges, as well as exchanges between the two countries' military forces, the two Communist Parties and the youths, have promoted the mutual understanding and trust, and laid a solid foundation for the relations.

During President Luong's visit to Beijing in July, 2005, he and Hu Jintao reached consensus on further cementing and promoting bilateral relations. Hu also put forward a four-point proposal to further Sino-Vietnam relations.

The proposals include the promotion of closer high-level contacts to expand traditional friendship; the further expansion of economic and trade cooperation; the proper handling of the border issue and the acceleration of setting up boundary markers along the land border; and the enhancement of exchanges in non-governmental arena.

During Hu's return visit to Vietnam, the leaders are scheduled to discuss directions for promoting bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially in economy, trade and investment, said Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Dung days earlier.

China has become Vietnam's biggest trading partner, and statistics in Vietnam said the two-way trade between two countries reached a record of 7.2 billion US dollars in 2004.

According to the Chinese customs, the trade with Vietnam also reached 6.74 billion dollars in 2004, up 45.5 percent compared with the year of 2003, exceeding the target of 5 billion dollars set for 2005.

By September 2005, Chinese direct investment in Vietnam rose to 710 million dollars with 346 projects.

The two countries are implementing a series of cooperative projects using preferential loans offered by the Chinese government, such as those in the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Plant and the Bac Giang Fertilizer Factory.

At a recent meeting of the Sino-Vietnam Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation, the two sides agreed to boost their economic and trade cooperation and fulfill a two-way trade target of 15 billion US dollars by 2010.

The development of Vietnam-China relations has brought about benefits to the two peoples, Le Dung said, noting Hu's visit will boost the bilateral relations.

It was expected that China and Vietnam will sign some economic cooperation agreements on railway signal system installation, credit for thermoelectric plant construction, and heavy industry development in Vietnam, he added.

Source: Xinhua