The fifth meeting of the joint working committee of four Vietnamese provinces Cao Bang, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, and Ha Giang and China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region was held in Cao Bang on December 6.

Addressing the meeting, Minister, Chairman of the Government Office Vu Duc Dam affirmed that the cooperation mechanism between the four Vietnamese provinces and Guangxi province of China has proved its effectiveness, bringing practical benefits for the people of the border localities.

To increase development further, the two sides should maintain regular exchanges between leaders of the four Vietnamese provinces and China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region, increase delegation exchanges between border districts and establish relations between branches, agencies and organisations to promote mutual understanding and trust, Dam said.

They should strengthen the popularisation of Vietnam-China friendship to raise peoples’ awareness of the importance of the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation, he added.

At the meeting, the two sides agreed that during 2012, Vietnamese and Chinese provinces made full use of their advantages, encouraged business investment and held joint investment and trade promotion activities within the framework of the Vietnam-China “two corridors, one economic belt” framework agreement.

They also reached a common perception on further enhancing their comprehensive cooperation in many fields.

Leaders of the Vietnamese and Chinese provinces signed an MoU on the meeting and witnessed the signing ceremony of a MoU on the building of an information exchange mechanism between the Foreign Affairs Departments of Cao Bang, Lang Son, Quang Ninh and Ha Giang, and the Foreign Affairs Office of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.