China, Vietnam pledge to deepen onshore cooperation

China and Vietnam pledged to further deepen their onshore cooperation in a joint statement issued in Hanoi on Tuesday. [Special coverage]

The two countries vowed to implement the Five-Year Plan for the Development of China-Vietnam Economic and Trade Cooperation (2012-2016) and major cooperative projects, according to the statement issued during a visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

They agreed to reach consensus as soon as possible on a plan to implement and finance the Pingxiang-Hanoi highway project, actively push for the Dongxing-Ha Long highway project and initiate feasibility studies on the Lao Cai-Hanoi railway project, the statement said.

China and Vietnam vowed to implement a memorandum of understanding to build a cross-border economic cooperation zone and actively study the signing of a border trade agreement, so as to promote cooperation and prosperity in the two countries' border region.

The two sides agreed to strengthen coordination on trade and economic policies and vowed to strive for a balanced growth of bilateral trade and achieve the goal of raising their trade volume to 60 billion U.S. dollars by 2015, said the statement.

They also agreed to further deepen communication and cooperation in such fields as agriculture, science and technology, education, culture, sports, tourism and health.

China and Vietnam said in the statement that they would continue to give full play to a land border joint committee, open up the Dongzhong-Hoanh Mo border gate as soon as they can and push for the talks on a cooperation agreement to protect and develop the tourism resources of the Detian Waterfall region.

They pledged to start a new round of negotiations on an agreement on the free navigation of the Beilun River mouth area, and reach consensus as soon as possible.

The two countries also pledged to complete the construction of new cross-border bridges at an early date, so as to lay the foundation for stability and development of their border area.

China and Vietnam also agreed to enhance cooperation at local level, especially cooperation between border provinces and regions, and give full play to local-level cooperation mechanisms between the two countries, the statement said.

Vietnam is the last leg of Li's first Southeast Asia tour as premier, which has taken him to Brunei and Thailand. While in Brunei, he attended a series of East Asian leaders' meetings and expounded China's policy on promoting regional cooperation and development.