(VOVworld) - State President Truong Tan Sang met with former military advisors, former diplomats, scholars and young people of China in Beijing yesterday on Thursday during his official visit to China. Among the attendees were former Chinese ambassadors to Vietnam, medical workers who cared for late Vietnamese president Ho Chi Minh’s health, and ex-soldiers, artists, lecturers and students who worked and studied in Vietnam.

Addressing the event, President Sang said that Vietnamese people are mindful the great assistance the Party, State and people of China have provided to Vietnam during the past struggle for national independence and current national construction and development. He reiterated Vietnam’s consistent and long-term policy of attaching great importance to the friendship and comprehensive cooperation with the Party, State and people of China, considering this a top priority in the country’s foreign policy. Besides all great achievements in cooperation between the two countries over past years, as neighboring countries, there still are pending issues between the two countries, including disputes about marine sovereignty. Sang expressed his belief that considering their goodwill, efforts and past experiences, both sides will deliberately resolve these issues to build a better relationship. President Sang said: “The history has proven that the cooperation friendship and the joint growth on the basis of equality as well as mutual respect is the best and only choice for the bilateral relationship between two countries, meeting the desire and common benefits of people of the two peoples.”Sang hoped that former military advisors, former diplomats, scholars and young people of China will continue act as a bridge boosting the Vietnam-China traditional friendship.