Q: Would you please give your assessment of the recent developments of Viet Nam-China relations and speak about the significance of President Tran Duc Luong's visit to China to bilateral ties in the years to come?

A: Viet Nam and China are neighbours and the two peoples maintain a time-honoured relationship. Under the leadership of the two Parties and States, with close cooperation between ministries and localities, and support of the two peoples, the neighbourly friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Viet Nam and China have been expanded to all domains, bringing in practical interests to both sides.

Fine progress has been seen in political ties while exchanges between services, localities, and mass organisations from the two sides have been feverishly conducted. Bilateral economic and commercial relations have developed steadily with a surge in two-way trade. China has become Viet Nam's leading trading partner. Border and territorial issues have been gradually resolved in the spirit of friendship and comradeship. The two countries have effectively coordinated and supported each other in addressing regional and international issues. The annual exchange of visits by high-level leaders of the two countries has become a fine tradition, thus strengthening mutual trust and understanding and setting guidelines for the multi-faceted development of relations between the two Parties and States.

President Tran Duc Luong's coming visit to China will not only bring that fine tradition into full play but also affirm the Vietnamese leaders and people's aspiration and determination to continuously preserve and develop friendly and stable relations and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

I am confident the visit will be a success, contributing to taking bilateral friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries to an unprecedented height within the guidelines of "friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-lasting stability and looking toward the future".

Q: Apart from being two neighbours that enjoy great cooperation potential, both Viet Nam and China have been joining regional, inter-regional and international cooperation mechanisms. So could you please speak about bilateral cooperation prospects, particularly in economic, trade and investment domains?

A: Together with the fine political relations, Viet Nam-China economic and trade ties have also developed rapidly over the past years, laying a firm foundation for the bilateral relationship. In 2004, bilateral trade experienced a soaring growth rate, reaching 7.2 billion USD, opening up the possibility for the two countries to fulfil ahead of schedule the target of 10 billion USD in trade that their leaders set for 2010.

Chinese investment in Viet Nam has also increased fast. China currently has more than 300 investment projects in Viet Nam with a total registered capital of nearly 700 million USD, ranking 14th among 69 countries and territories having invested in Viet Nam. The two sides are implementing and discussing many major cooperation projects, including several schemes worth hundreds of millions of USD such as the Cao Ngan themo-electric power plant, the Sin Quyen copper mine, a plan to improve northern Viet Nam's system of railway communication signals, a light railway system connecting Ha Noi with Ha Tay province's Ha Dong town, and a factory making nitrogenous fertiliser from coal dust in northern Ninh Binh province. The two sides plan to sign a number of new cooperation projects during President Tran Duc Luong's upcoming visit to China.

The sides have also reached a common understanding on the building of two economic corridors connecting Kunming-Lao Cai-Ha Noi-Hai Phong, and Nanning-Lang Son-Ha Noi-Hai Phong, and an economic belt around the Tonkin Gulf. In addition, Viet Nam and China will continue to cooperate closely within the frameworks of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, the ASEAN+China, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, etc.

However, the results of bilateral economic and trade cooperation have failed to fulfil the potential and desires of both sides. The two sides are joining hands to seek measures to help their trade ties grow stronger and more stable in the coming time, including measures to reduce Viet Nam's trade deficit, so that bilateral economic and trade relations will continue to enjoy rapid and sustainable growth, equal to the fine political relations between the two countries.

Q: China is a major partner of Viet Nam and its support will have great impact on Viet Nam's accession to the WTO. What is your comment on this issue?

A: Viet Nam and China have conducted six rounds of bilateral negotiations on Viet Nam's accession to the WTO. China's high-ranking leaders have expressed strong support for Viet Nam to join the WTO as soon as possible. The two sides have so far concluded their negotiations in principle and are putting the final touches on remaining issues in order to sign a document that officially declares the conclusion of bilateral negotiations during President Luong's visit to China. We believe that the support of the Chinese Government will facilitate Viet Nam's admission to the WTO, opening up new possibilities for bilateral cooperation in many areas, including economic and trade.