There is room for Vietnam and China to develop their relations into a new height in a stable and long- term way, the People newspaper on Wednesday quoted Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vu Dung as saying.

"Maintaining and further strengthening the friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and the two parties of Vietnam and China are principal benefits of the two countries, and in line with the trend of peace, stability and cooperation for joint development in the region and the world," the diplomat stated.

Over the past 17 years, the Vietnam-China relations have unceasingly developed in all spheres, and the bilateral cooperation has become more and more effective, bringing about practical benefits to the two countries, he said.

During the second meeting of the China-Vietnam steering committee on cooperation in Beijing from January 23-25, the two sides frankly and fully discussed important issues in the bilateral relations, he said.

The committee convenes meetings annually in principle, and is held in turn in the two countries. The first meeting was held in November 2006 in Vietnam's Hanoi.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2008)