China and Vietnam have agreed to address the dispute over the South China Sea through negotiations and peaceful, friendly consultations.

Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo met with Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister Ho Xuan Son, the special envoy of the Vietnamese leader, in Beijing on Saturday, according to a press release given by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sunday.

At the meeting, Dai expounded China's stance and opinions on developing the Sino-Vietnamese ties and on the maritime problems, while the Vietnamese special envoy conveyed the opinions from the Vietnamese leader on bilateral ties and about recent situation of the South China Sea.

According to the press release, both sides agreed to implement the consensus reached by the two leaderships and adopt effective measures to jointly safeguard peace and stability of the South China Sea.

The two sides also stressed making joint efforts so as to influence media reports in a positive manner and avoid actions detrimental to the bilateral friendship and mutual trust.

The two sides also agreed to speed up the consultations over a pact regarding the fundamental principles to direct solving maritime disputes between Vietnam and China, pledging to work harder for signing of an agreement as early as possible.

The two side also gave a nod to promptly implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and its follow-up actions for making substantive progress.

Since the signing of the DOC in 2002, China has actively pushed forward the implementation of the follow-up actions of the DOC.

In the past nine years, China and members with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have hosted two senior officials' meetings and established a joint working group on the implementation of the DOC. The ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The joint working group has reached consensus on six cooperative projects, including disaster prevention and mitigation in the South China Sea and coordination on marine search and rescue missions.

The joint working group has held six meetings on a rotational basis between China and ASEAN nations since it was initiated in Manila of the Philippines in 2005.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the two sides also touched upon the growth of bilateral ties.

The two sides agreed that the sound and steady development of Sino-Vietnamese ties conforms with the fundamental interests and common aspiration of the two peoples and is conducive to the peace, stability and development in the region.

Both China and Vietnam stressed advancing the growth of Sino-Vietnamese partnership characterized by comprehensive, strategic and cooperative features, through firmly adhering to the guideline highlighting "long-standing stability, future-orientation for good neighborly and friendly relations and all-round cooperation" and in line with the spirit of "good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners."

Before his meeting with State Councillor Dai, the Vietnamese special envoy also met and held talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, according the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

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