HANOI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and Vietnam have similar political institutions, same national situations, mutual understanding and assistance, comprehensive cooperation for joint benefit and development, which are important characters of their ties in the new century, promoting the all-round cooperation between the two parties and two countries, a Chinese official told Xinhua on Monday.

    The bilateral relations, in recent years, have seen dramatic development, shown in four aspects, Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hu Qianwen said on the occasion of a visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nong Duc Manh.

    "First, leaders of the two parties and the two countries always maintain the close relations through the exchange of high-level delegations, unceasingly bringing the ties to a new development," he said, adding that the presidents of China and Vietnam successfully exchanged friendly visits in 2005, following those of their two prime ministers in 2004.

    Nong Duc Manh is scheduled to start his five-day goodwill visit to China on Tuesday, and the Chinese top leader is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this year in Vietnam's Hanoi capital, and considers a visit to Vietnam, Hu said, noting that such high-level visits in the past were not common.

    "Second, the economic and trade relations between the two sides continuously walk on new ladder steps. China has become Vietnam's biggest trading partner since 2004. Their trade reached over 8 billion U.S. dollars last year. The two sides hope, by the end of this year, to fulfill the two-way trade target of 10 billion dollars ahead the schedule of 2010 set by the prime ministers of the two countries," Hu said.

    The bilateral cooperation in many large projects has seen big progresses. Last year, the two sides inked deals on upgrading two railway signal systems and building three thermoelectric plants with a total investment of over 1.1 billion dollars.

    China and Vietnam, in recent years, have negotiated a large-scale economic cooperation project with Chinese investment of 3 billion dollars, he said.

    "The economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has brought about practical benefits and opened up a bright future."

    Third, existing issues on territory and border in the history have been gradually dealt with in a satisfactory manner, he said, adding that the two sides signed Beibu Gulf demarcation treaty and the land border demarcation agreement in 1999 and 2000, facilitating and ensuring the long-term stability in bilateral ties.

    "Now, the land border demarcation work between China and Vietnam has smoothly developed. In 2008, the two countries are expected to finish the planting of border marks, leaders of the two countries reach common recognition, and the two sides hope to complete the work as schedule," he said.

    Fourth, China and Vietnam have fostered exchanges and comprehensive cooperation in many fields, Hu said. "The two sides have unceasingly shared experiences on socialism theory and practice."

    The two countries have so far organized four seminars on theory studies at large scale. They have established cooperation and dialogue mechanisms in such major sectors as foreign affairs, national defense, and public security, creating foundation for the stability and development of the bilateral friendly relations, he noted.

    The ambassador believed that the upcoming visit to China by Manh and his talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and meetings with other Chinese leaders will strengthen the neighborly friendship between the two parties, two countries, and their win-win cooperation, making them really become good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners. Enditem