Hu Jintao began his three-day official visit to Viet Nam the same day.

During the talks, which took place in a friendly, sincere and open atmosphere, the two sides discussed in depth and reached consensus on regional and international issues of mutual concern and agreed on the need to further enhance and develop the ties between the two Parties and countries.

Party General Secretary Manh and President Luong warmly welcomed their Chinese guest on his official visit to Viet Nam, saying it has great significance, as it takes place at a time when the two Parties and the two countries are working on their next five-year plans.

They expressed their belief that the visit would elevate the Viet Nam-China relations to a new height under the guideline of " friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, long lasting stability and looking forward to the future."

The hosts strongly affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, State and people placed importance on boosting overall and sustainable cooperation with China and that they had made it a consistent policy and a top priority.

Hu Jintao expressed his sincere thanks to his hosts for the solemn and warm welcome that the Vietnamese leaders and people had just given to him.

He spoke highly of the new, great achievements of the Vietnamese Party and people in the renovation, industrialisation and modernisation process, and in building a socialist country with a prosperous people, and a just, democractic and civilised society.

He asserted that China attached great importance to its relationship with Viet Nam, and that he considered the China-Viet Nam friendship as a valuable asset of the two Parties and the two peoples.

Both sides said they were delighted to see strong and overall developments in the relations between the two Parties and the two countries in conformity with the guideline agreed upon.

They agreed to continue with the two countries’ tradition of conducting regular high-level meetings in order to define orientations for cooperation between the two Parties and countries, thus increasing the effectiveness of the ties between sectors and branches at different levels, especially in diplomacy, defence, and security.

They also agreed to continue to organise theoretical exchanges and increase education for younger generations about the two countries’ traditional solidarity and friendship.

They agreed to increase the number of consultations and the coordination of action at regional and international forums for peace, cooperation and development.

Both sides said they were pleased to witness breakthroughs in the two countries’ economic and trade ties, making China Viet Nam’s primary trading partner. They expressed their belief that the two countries would be able to realise the 2010 goal of raising their bilateral trade to 10 billion USD ahead of schedule.

The Vietnamese side once again thanked China for its early conclusion of negotiations on Viet Nam’s WTO entry, describing it as a reflection of the spirit of mutual help and mutual trust.

Both sides expressed their desire to further accelerate the two countries’ economic and trade ties for their mutual benefits.

In a positive and practical spirit, the two sides agreed to further expand the scope of trade and at the same time take measures to ensure a balanced development of bilateral trade.

The two sides discussed major economic cooperation projects.

The Vietnamese side expressed the desire to promote investment cooperation with China on a long term and mutually beneficial basis.

Both sides were happy to see that many agreements had been signed on economic cooperation during the visit, which marked a new milestone in the two countries’ economic cooperation.

They noted with satisfaction the progress in the two countries’ joint study, which aims to develop economic cooperation in the formula of "two corridors, one beltway". They said it would contribute significantly to not only the Viet Nam-China bilateral ties, regional cooperation, the sub-Mekong region cooperation, but also to the cooperation between China and ASEAN.

The two sides were of the same view that the two countries had made a breakthrough achievement in signing and executing their Land Border Treaty and the Tonkin Gulf Demarcation Agreement while they continue to conduct negotiations on sea issues.

They agreed to continue collaborating closely in carrying out the agreements already reached in order to build the common border into one of peace and friendship.

In that spirit, the two sides agreed to start negotiations on the demarcation of the water areas outside the Tonkin Gulf as soon as possible.

On regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two sides shared similar views on many important matters, and both expressed wishes for peace, the pursuit of development, the acceleration of cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect, respect for the social regime, the development model and the cultural diversity of other countries.

They noted the importance of promoting democratization of international relations so as to build a peaceful, stable and prosperous Asia and world.

They expressed their determination to work together and with other countries in achieving these targets.

At the end of the talks, the two sides signed a number of economic cooperation agreements.

A joint statement will be released at the end of the visit./.