Premier Wen Jiabao said during a Thursday meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Phan Van Khai, that China and Vietnam should carefully handle existing problems in bilateral relations.

Phan is on a four-day official visit to China.

Highly valuing the traditional mutual friendship, Wen said the Chinese government will work with Vietnam to push neighborly relations to a new high. Deepening that traditional friendship conforms to the fundamental interest of both peoples.

Phan agreed, saying that it is the established and long-term policy of the Vietnamese Party and government to consolidate and advance friendship with China.

Wen suggested the two countries should strengthen high-level exchanges and bilateral political ties.

The two neighbors should encourage regional exchanges as well as exchanges between the peoples through various channels, said Wen, while sharing the experiences of reform and opening.

As to existing problems in bilateral relations, he said the two nations should seek proper solutions in light of the overall situation.

The economies of Vietnam and China are highly complementary, Phan said, and the two countries have great potential to work together. Vietnam plans to adopt pragmatic measures to make China as large a trading partner as possible, he said.

China and Vietnam plan to double the current volume of bilateral trade by 2010.

During his stay in China, which started Thursday, Phan will also meet other Chinese leaders and pay a visit to central China's Hubei Province and Liaoning Province in northeast China.

(China Daily May 21, 2004)