Vietnamese Ambassador to China Tran Van Luat said Thursday that Vietnam and China have bright prospects for bilateral ties and that economic and trade cooperation is progressing steadily.  

At a press conference commemorating the 30th anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam, Tran said, in recent years, Vietnam has had frequent exchanges with China's southwest provinces and autonomous regions. Economic and trade cooperation has also maintain good momentum.

According to Tran, the trade volume in 2004 between south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Vietnam reached US$700 million, which accounted for 85 percent of the total volume of Guangxi with Southeast Asian countries. In the same year, the trade volume between China's southwestern Yunnan Province and Vietnam amounted to US$300 million.

He said, Vietnam is building the railway between its capital Hanoi and Yunnan. Guangxi is also constructing the expressway from its capital Nanning to Friendship Pass on the border of Vietnam and China.

"The completion of the two lines will, to a great extent, facilitate the trade exchanges between the two countries," Tran said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2005)