On September 6, 2011, the 5th meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation was held in Hanoi, Vietnam under the chair of Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo and Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Thien Nhan. In a sincere and friendly atmosphere, the two sides exchanged in-depth views and reached broad consensus on further developing the China-Vietnam relations comprehensively. During the meeting, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with Dai respectively. The two sides held cordial and friendly talks. Dai conveyed the oral message of General Secretary Hu Jintao to Nguyen Phu Trong on the development of relations between the two Parties and countries.

On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the steering committee, the two sides think highly of its sound operation over the past five years and believe it has played an important role of coordinating and promoting the all-round friendship and cooperation between the two Parties and countries in a practical and effective manner. It complies with the fundamental interest and common aspiration of the two peoples.

The two sides agree the healthy, stable and growing China-Vietnam relations serve the basic interest of the two peoples and benefit peace, stability and development in the region against the background of complicated and profound changes in the current international situation. They stress to maintain the high-level exchanges, give full play to the role of the steering committee, coordinate and plan cooperation in various fields, share experiences of running the state, continue to well organize the theoretical seminars between the two Parties, promote the efficiency of cooperation mechanisms between sectors, deepen the pragmatic cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, military affairs, law enforcement, security, science, education, culture and health care, expand the friendly people-to-people exchanges and ensure the bilateral relations always move forward in a positive, healthy and stable direction.

They believe it is critical to properly solve the marine issues in order to maintain the general situation of friendly cooperation between China and Vietnam. They reiterate to abide by the consensus reached between leaders of the two countries, international laws and the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, solve the marine disputes peacefully through negotiations and friendly consultations and take effective measures to safeguard peace and stability of South China Sea. They will accelerate the process of negotiations and seek fundamental and long-term solutions acceptable to both sides. They agree to strengthen negotiations on the marine issues and sign the agreement on the basic principles guiding the settlement of marine issues between China and Vietnam at an early date. They will boost the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and follow-up work and try to achieve substantial progress soon.