Chinese State Councilor Meets Vietnamese Trade MinisterChina is willing to work with Vietnam to push ahead with bilateral friendship and all-round cooperation in the new century, State Councilor Wu Yi said Friday in Yantai, Shandong Province.Wu made this statement during a meeting with Vu Khoan, Vietnamese trade minister, who arrived in this coastal city in east China's Shandong Province after attending the two-day APEC MRT (Ministers Responsible for Trade) meeting in Shanghai. He will attend the second Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Investment Mart, which is scheduled to open here Saturday. China and Vietnam, as two neighbors, enjoy a traditional friendship, Wu said. Both are socialist countries led by the Communist Party and have common goals and aspirations, she added. "China is willing to work with Vietnam in materializing the goals and tasks set forth in the Sino-Vietnamese joint statement," said Wu. China-Vietnam trade has experienced rapid growth in recent years. The two-way trade volume reached 2.466 billion US dollars last year, a record high. That figure has exceeded the 2 billion US dollars target by the two governments. "Economic cooperation has yielded significant results," she said, noting there is still great potential for further trade and economic cooperation. She expressed belief that such cooperation will maintain sound, stable and rapid growth in the new century. Vu conveyed the best regards of the Vietnamese leaders, expressing thanks for China's long-term support to Vietnam. He said Vietnam is pleased at the record high trade volume in the year 2000, expressing the hope that bilateral trade will double in the coming five years. Vietnam is willing to further enhance cooperation with China in the frameworks of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and APEC, he said. |
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