Vietnamese State President Tran Duc Luong reaffirmed here Friday his country's adherence to the one- China policy and consistent support to China on the Taiwan issue when meeting with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan.

Luong said that reinforcing and strengthening the friendly and all-round cooperative ties with China is a consistent and long- term policy of the party and government of Vietnam. The policy is in line with fundamental interests of the two peoples, he noted.

The president said Vietnam treasures the promotion of the two countries' relations and their armies' ties. He said he believed Cao's visit would make a further step in enhancing mutual trust, and deepening bilateral cooperation.

Cao said that the peoples in the two countries have long- standing traditional friendly relations, and that in recent years, the friendly and cooperative ties have been ceaselessly broadened and deepened, while exchange and cooperation between the two armies have progressed well.

The Chinese defense minister said China wants, along with Vietnam, to jointly make their cooperation closer and more substantial, bringing the bilateral relations to a new height.

At the invitation of Vietnamese Defense Minister Pham Van Tra, Cao arrived in Vietnam on April 6, starting his four-day visit to the country.

Source: Xinhua