News

December 1, 2001

BEIJING (AP) -- China and Vietnam signed a pair of agreements strengthening their economic cooperation and providing easy credit to Vietnam, state media reported Saturday.

No details were provided about the accords, signed Friday at the start of an official visit to China by Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh.

Newspapers and the official Xinhua News Agency said that in talks Friday, Manh and Chinese President Jiang Zemin affirmed the strength of ties between the communist neighbors, which have been bolstered by growing trade and frequent visits by top leaders on both sides. Jiang is also head of China's Communist Party.

Manh's visit marks the 10th anniversary of the normalization of relations between China and Vietnam. Relations collapsed after China invaded Vietnam in 1979 in retaliation for Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in late 1978 to oust the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge.

The brief but bloody border war led to a diplomatic freeze between the two countries that lasted until 1991.

On Saturday, Manh presented a wreath at a shrine to martyrs of China's communist revolution.
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