Special report:   2008 Olympic Games

    HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet voiced his confidence Thursday that the Beijing Olympic torch relay will be a complete success.

    During a meeting with Xu Mingliang, Chinese Consul General to the southern Ho Chi Minh City, the president said Vietnam supports the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and that he will attend its opening ceremony.

    Triet also spoke highly of the development of the Vietnam-China relations in recent years.

    Xu thanked Vietnam, especially Ho Chi Minh City, for having done so many preparations for the torch relay in the city slated for later this month. He also welcomed Triet to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

    The 130-day torch relay, which started on April 2 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, will cover 137,000 km. A total of 21,880 torch bearers will be participating in the relay, held under the theme of "Journey of Harmony."