Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam signed the Treaty of Land Border between China and Vietnam in Hanoi on Thursday on behalf of their respective countries.

With the signing of the treaty, all outstanding issues relating to the land border between China and Vietnam have been resolved.

Among those who attended the signing ceremony were Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and Wang Yi, head of the Chinese delegation for China-Vietnam land border negotiations and Chinese assistant foreign minister.

Prior to the signing ceremony, Khai met with Chinese Foreign Minister Tang.

At the meeting, Tang said he and Cam had officially signed the Treaty of Land Border between China and Vietnam, thus having fulfilled the glorious task assigned by the two countries' leaders.

Recalling all rounds of negotiations on land border between the two countries, Tang attributed the removal of numerous difficulties, the complete settlement of remaining disputes and the timely signing of the treaty, first and foremost, to the very attention and guidance given by leaders of the two parties and countries.

He also attributed the success to the consistent efforts made by the two countries' delegations and working groups in charge of land border negotiations.

China and Vietnam are close neighbors, and to bring peace, amity, cooperation and stability along the land border between the two countries into the 21st century conforms to the common aspirations of the two peoples and serves the fundamental interest of the two countries, Tang said. It will also contribute significantly to regional peace and stability, he added.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Khai described December 30, 1999 as a red-letter day when China and Vietnam officially signed the Land Border Treaty, fulfilling the task assigned by the general secretaries of the two parties.

He also stressed that it was a big event of great historic significance in the relations between Vietnam and China.

He expressed his strong belief that the event would contribute to further promoting the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries well into the 21st century.

Tang conveyed the warm regards from Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji to Khai.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Tang also met with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam.

On Thursday morning, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Khoan, head of the Vietnamese delegation for negotiations, reviewed land border negotiations between the two countries and initialed the land border treaty.