On October 19, President Jiang Zemin met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in Shanghai.

Phan thanked Jiang for inviting him to attend the meeting and for the warm hospitality he has received. He conveyed to Jiang the kind regards and best wishes from General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nong Duc Manh and Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong.

He congratulated China on hosting the APEC meeting in the first year of the new century in Shanghai and expressed the belief that the meeting is going to be a success.

He extended congratulations on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and highly assessed Jiang’s speech made on the occasion of celebrating the anniversary.

Phan said he was happy with the fresh and positive development in the bilateral relations and hoped the bilateral relations will continue to develop.

Jiang thanked Phan for his friendly words. Jiang expressed satisfaction with the positive development in the Sino- Vietnamese relations, saying it is a set policy of the CPC and the Chinese government to strengthen neighborly friendship and the overall cooperation with Vietnam. China will, together with the Vietnamese side, take active measures to expand and enhance bilateral cooperation, in line with the principle of “long-term stability, looking to the future, neighborly friendship and all-round cooperation” and the direction set forth in the Joint Statement concerning bilateral cooperation in the new century.

Jiang said that China has received support and assistance from neighboring countries including Vietnam in its development. As an old Chinese saying goes, relatives hope their relatives to live better, and so do neighbors. China is glad with the social stability and economic progress in Vietnam after the ninth CPV national congress.