Steering Committee for Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation set up

After the signing ceremony, the first session of the SCBC took place, co-chaired by Deputy PM Phạm Gia Khiêm and Chinese State Council member Tang Jiaxuan.

At the meeting, the two sides hailed the establishment of the Steering Committee, considering it a significant event and a new advance in the course of developing relationship between the two communist parties and the two countries. After discussion, they came to an agreement on the procedures and mechanism to operate the SCBC and defined some priorities for the committee's work in the intermediate future.

The two sides were pleased to note that the neighbor friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and China have kept growing well across the board, especially after the October 2005 visit to Vietnam by Chinese Party General Secretary and President Hu Jintao and the August 2006 visit to China by Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nông Đức Mạnh. Mr. Tang Jiaxuan expressed his gratitude to Vietnam for its thorough preparations for the coming official visit by Mr. Hu Jintao. Mr. Khiem said that the visit would not only contribute to the success of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, but also bring the bilateral relationship to a new height in line with the motto "Friendly neighborhood, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, and looking towards the future".

By Việt Đông-Xuân Hồng