China and Vietnam have agreed to finish tracing the border
between the two countries in 2008, said a joint press communiqué
issued by the two countries on Friday.
The communiqué said China and Vietnam will cooperate closely to
ensure partial demarcation is finished in 2007 and the demarcation
of the entire border in 2008.
The two countries will sign a new border administration system
document once demarcation is complete, said the communiqué.
China and Vietnam started the task of defining their 1,300
kilometer of land border in 2002 and so far 13 rounds of
government-level negotiations on border issue have been held.
The communiqué also said the two countries will implement the
agreement on the Beibu Gulf and fishery cooperation in the Gulf,
and speed up implementation of the agreement on Beibu Gulf oil and
gas cooperation.
On the South China sea issue, the communiqué said the two
countries agree not to take actions that might complicate the
conflict and agree to negotiate peacefully in the interests of a
lasting settlement accepted by both sides.
The communiqué was issued during Vietnamese President Nguyen
Minh Triet's state visit to China from May 15 to 18. During his
stay here, Nguyen held talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and met with top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao and top political advisor Jia Qinglin.
(Xinhua News Agency May 19, 2007)