Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), made the remarks while meeting with Nong Duc Manh, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Wu, also a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said the fruitful talks between Manh and Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee on Monday, established a clear orientation for the future development of China-Vietnamese relations.

In recent years, the exchanges and cooperation between the two Communist parties and the two nations in different fields and at different levels continued to expand and gained momentum, Wu said.

He said the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two parliaments -- China's NPC and Vietnam's National Assembly -- also continue to improve and had become an important part of China-Vietnamese relations.

With concerted efforts from both sides, the friendly exchanges between the NPC and Vietnam's National Assembly would progress further and make greater contributions to the overall development of bilateral ties.

Manh congratulated Wu once again on his election as chairman of the NPC Standing Committee and on the success of the first session of the Tenth NPC.

He said recent years had seen great development of the friendly cooperation between the two sides in all fields including politics, economy, culture, education, science and technology, and the friendly exchanges between Vietnam's National Assembly and China's NPC had also improved greatly.

Manh said Vietnam was ready to improve the cooperation between the two parliaments and learn from China's precious experiences in legislation and supervision.

He also emphasized the importance of teaching the younger generations in both countries to cherish and carry on the good tradition of the Vietnam-China friendship.

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2003)