China and Vietnam yesterday vowed to address border issues and
maintain peace and stability in the frontier areas.
The pledge was made during a one-hour meeting between President
Hu Jintao and his visiting Vietnamese
counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet.
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China and Vietnam share a 1,300-km land border; and efforts are
being made to complete the demarcation before next year.
Triet said that Vietnam was keen to develop relations between
border provinces, so as to create peace, friendship and common
development in the area; and increase collaboration in the Beibu
Gulf area.
On bilateral relations, Hu put forward five proposals: exchanges
at various levels; enhanced economic, trade and technological
cooperation; more personnel exchanges; careful management of border
issues; closer coordination and consultation in international and
regional affairs.
Hu appreciated Vietnam's support for the one-China policy and
China's reunification; and Triet responded by saying that relations
with China are a priority in Vietnam's foreign relations.
The two sides yesterday also agreed to step up building "two
corridors and one economic belt" along their shared border.
The corridors link Kunming in Southwest China's Yunnan Province and Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region with Hai
Phong in Vietnam.
The Beibu Gulf economic belt which covers China's Guangxi and
parts of Vietnam has become a major plank of the neighbors'
economic cooperation.
The two countries are also working to set up a 17-square-km
trans-border economic zone in the city of Pingxiang in Guangxi and
Lang Son Province of Vietnam, according to a Xinhua report
yesterday.
Bilateral trade reached more than US$10 billion last year, a
goal originally set by the two countries for 2010.
The two presidents also reached consensus that the two countries
should jointly promote the establishment of the China-ASEAN free trade area and the
multi-lateral cooperation in the Greater Mekong sub-region.
(China Daily May 18, 2007)
