The 11th round of border negotiations between the governments of China and Vietnam was held in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday.

A Chinese government delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei and a Vietnamese government delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Dung attended the negotiations.

The two sides reviewed the progress made in previous negotiations, and spoke highly of the significance of the Beibu Gulf demarcation agreement and the fishery cooperation agreement. They also made further arrangement for the next phase of work.

The two sides fully affirmed the achievements made this year in demarcation and erection of border markers along their land boundaries, and agreed to speed up this process in a bid to complete the task on schedule.

They stressed that proceeding from the overall Sino-Vietnamese friendly relations, the two sides should seriously implement the Beibu Gulf fishery cooperation agreement in the spirit of friendliness, understanding and cooperation.

The two sides agreed that while maintaining stability in the South China Sea area, they will formally start the diplomatic negotiations and continue to promote the bilateral maritime cooperation projects.

They also exchanged views on bilateral relations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing met with the Vietnamese government delegation on Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2004)