Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met in Hanol on Saturday with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nong Duc Manh.

The Vietnamese communist party, government and people appreciated China's persistent assistance in Vietnam's struggle for national independence and construction of the country, Manh said.

Vietnam will strengthen exchange and cooperation with China for common development, which will also make the two neighbors good friends, comrades and partners, he added.

Chinese President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit will surely further boost the Vietnam-China good neighborly relations, usher in a new era in the history of ties between the two parties and two countries, Manh said.

Hu, who is scheduled to pay a state visit to Vietnam on Nov. 15- 17, will also attend an informal meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders to be held in Hanoi on Nov. 18-19.

Tang said it's the common interest and aspiration for the two peoples to deepen the traditional Sino-Vietnamese friendship and strengthen their cooperation of mutual benefit.

The newly-established China-Vietnam steering committee on cooperation marked a new phase of their bilateral ties developing in an all-round and coordinated way, he added.

The committee, which is designed to coordinate China-Vietnam cooperation in various fields and address major issues in their cooperation, will meet once a year in the two countries alternatively.

China is willing to work jointly with the Vietnamese side to push their good-neighborly cooperation to a new high under the guidelines of "long-term stability, looking to the future, good- neighborliness and all-round development," Tang said.

During President Hu's visit, leaders of the two countries will exchange views on important issues of common concern and reach new consensus for future Sino-Vietnamese cooperation, he noted.

On the same day, Tang also met with Vietnamese State President Nguyen Minh Triet and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on bilateral ties and trade cooperation.

Editor: Yan