Chinese president calls for healthy development of Sino-Vietnamese ties

BEIJING, Dec. 23 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for sustained, healthy and stable development of relations between China and Vietnam.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with Chairman of Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung in Beijing.

To achieve the goal, he suggested the two sides cement the political foundation of China-Vietnam relations, push forward production capacity cooperation and properly deal with divergences between the two sides.

"China and Vietnam have far more common interests than differences," said Xi, saying that the two sides have the experience and capability to control their differences.

He recalled his meeting with Hung in Vietnam's National Assembly last month, where he delivered a speech to hundreds of Vietnamese congressmen.

China's National People's Congress (NPC) and Vietnam's National Assembly, both play important roles in their countries' political lives, and should enhance communication and cooperation, to make a greater contribution to the development of bilateral ties and the friendship between the two peoples, he said.

Hung said the Vietnamese party, government and people cherish the traditional friendship with China.

Promotion of Vietnam-China friendship is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and is conducive to regional peace and development, he said.

The Vietnamese side is willing to work with China to deepen political mutual trust and expand cooperation in economy, culture, defense and local affairs, he said.

He also called on the two countries to strengthen coordination and mutual support on multilateral occasions.

The Vietnamese National Assembly will enhance communication and exchanges with the NPC and learn from each other on state governance, he added.

Hung is visiting China from Wednesday to Sunday at the invitation of Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's NPC Zhang Dejiang.