Visiting Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said in Hanoi Thursday that a good-neighborly and all-round cooperative relationship between China and Vietnam is conducive to peace, stability and development in the region and the whole world at large.

In a written statement distributed upon his arrival, Zhu recalled the traditional friendship between the two peoples.

Since the normalization of the bilateral relations eight years ago, Zhu said, the Sino-Vietnamese ties have been further tightened as marked by frequent high-level exchanges and the increase in contacts and cooperation in various fields.

In the context of the current world situation, a constant consolidation and development of good-neighborliness and all-round cooperation between the two countries confirms to the common aspirations and fundamental interests of the two peoples, the premier said.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Jiang Zemin and his Vietnamese counterpart Le Kha Phieu agreed in Beijing last February on the establishment of a future-oriented relationship of long-term stability, good-neighborliness and all-round cooperation. This means that the bilateral relations have entered a new phase of development, Zhu said.

The year 2000 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as well as the start of a new millennium, he noted.

"At this important historical occasion, I am looking forward to having in-depth exchange of views with Vietnamese leaders with an aim to further promote the development of the relations between the two (communist) parties and the two countries," Zhu said.

The two countries have similar national conditions and thus they have a lot of experience to share with each other, he added.

Zhu is on the second day of his four-day Vietnam visit which has brought him to Ho Chi Minh city.

During his stay in Hanoi, the Chinese premier met with Le Kha Phieu, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and Chairman of the National Assembly Nong Duc Manh. (Xinhua)