General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President Nguyen Phu Trong (R) shakes hands with Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo during their meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Jan. 21, 2019. Trong has said further consolidation and development of Vietnam-China friendship will not only benefit the construction of the two countries, but also make contribution to peace, stability, development and prosperity of the region and the world. (Xinhua/Chinese Embassy in Vietnam)

HANOI, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President Nguyen Phu Trong has said further consolidation and development of Vietnam-China friendship will not only benefit the construction of the two countries, but also make contribution to peace, stability, development and prosperity of the region and the world.

The Vietnamese top leader made the remarks here on Monday when meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo.

Highlighting the current development of Vietnam-China relations, Trong said Vietnam and China are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and the friendship between the two peoples goes back to ancient times.

Both countries are under the leadership of communist parties and have made important achievements in building socialism with their own characteristics, Trong noted.

Trong expressed his hope that the two sides will implement the high-level consensus between the two parties and the two countries, inherit and bolster the traditional friendship.

Xiong said that in recent years, top leaders of the two parties and the two countries have exchanged visits and conducted in-depth strategic communication, which has played an irreplaceable and important role in the healthy and stable development of China-Vietnam relations.

The complementary advantages and great potential of cooperation between the two countries have been further manifested, Xiong noted.

China is willing to work together with Vietnam to strengthen the traditional friendship, maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields, expand people-to-people exchanges, and promote the steady, healthy and sustainable development of China-Vietnam relations, said the ambassador.