China and Vietnam agreed to have exchange of economic experts to confer ways to tackle the current world financial crisis, said Visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Thursday.

Dung, who is on his first official China visit since he took office in 2006, said that China could not only stand up to the economic slowdown but also maintain steady economic growth, which made important contribution to the recovery of regional and world economy.

He told Xinhua that the party, government and people of Vietnam treasure very much their friendship with China, regarding Vietnam-China relations as top priority for the country's foreign policy.

Hailing the progress of bilateral ties over the years, he said the two countries had kept frequent high-level visits, strengthened political trust and maintained close coordination in international arena including the United Nations. The establishment of China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership in May had injected new vitality to further growth of bilateral ties.

Both countries were confident about the settlement of the boundary demarcation work by the end of 2008, he added.

So far China has invested in more than 600 projects in Vietnam with total capital of more than?US$2 billion.

Calling China-Vietnam relations as entering a brand-new and substantial stage of development, Dung expected even closer bilateral ties and enhanced cooperation in various areas.

With regard to China's progress in its reform and opening-up, Dung said China had achieved "miracle" in the past 30 years, which helped not only to strengthen China's national power and improve people's living but also to boost China's influence and status on international stage.

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2008)