Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his entourage returned to Hanoi on May 1, successfully concluding their visit to Shanghai city, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

Mr Dung’s visit aimed to promote the comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership between the two countries with top priority given to economics, trade and investment.

Mr Dung, Chinese Party General Secretary and State President Hu Jintao, and local leaders praised their respective country’s potential for cooperation and expressed their wish to further mutually beneficial cooperative relations.

At the meeting with PM Dung in Shanghai, President Hu Jintao confirmed that the Party and Government of China always attach great importance to developing relations with Vietnam and are ready to join hands with Vietnam to speed up the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership.

The two leaders agreed to take specific measures to further boost bilateral cooperation, under which, Vietnam and China will maintain and increase high-ranking visits and meetings as well as expanding exchanges between ministries, branches and localities of both countries.

They also agreed to boost the efficiency of cooperation in all fields, particularly in economics, trade, investment, culture, education and tourism, striving to reach two-way trade turnover of US$25 billion this year.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang said that the governments, ministries, sectors will continue to build favourable legal frameworks for business operations. In terms of trade, PM Dung asked the Chinese side to accelerate the signing of a five- year plan for trade development between Vietnam and China in the near future.

The Vietnam-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Forums held in Zhejiang and Jiangsu attracted thousands of Chinese businesses, showing their keen interest in investment, business and trade links with Vietnam.

A series of cooperative documents, particularly on tourism between Vietnamese relevant agencies and administrations of Chinese cities and provinces were signed.

Strong political commitments by leaders from both countries and the legal frameworks signed during Mr Dung’s visit have added a fresh impetus to promoting the comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership for the two countries’ benefits.