Visiting Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji Wednesday called for an increase in exchanges between provinces or cities of China and Vietnam.

Enhanced cooperation between the two sides will surely contribute to the establishment of a future-oriented good neighborliness and all-round cooperative relationship, Zhu said in Ho Chi Minh City on the first day of his visit to Vietnam.

Addressing a banquet held in his honor by Truong Tan Sang, secretary of the city's municipal party committee, Zhu said Ho Chi Minh city has done a lot to promote Sino-Vietnamese ties since the bilateral relations were back on normal the track eight years ago.

He described as "admirable" the achievements made by Vietnam's largest city, which has been in the forefront of reform endeavors in the country for the last 10 years or so.

In his speech, Sang, also a politburo member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), said that Vietnam-China relations must be brought to a new height for the sake of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large as well as for the benefits of the two countries themselves.

He said Ho Chi Minh city has enhanced contacts and exchanges with big Chinese cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou, through which the two sides learned from each other and explored ways of cooperation.

Zhu arrived Wednesday afternoon for a four-day official visit to Vietnam. He will fly to Hanoi Thursday to meet Vietnamese leaders including CPV General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and Chairman of the National Assembly Nong Duc Manh. (Xinhua)