CHINA and Vietnam issued a joint statement on Wednesday over deepening comprehensive strategic co-operation between the two nations.

This comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping ended his visit to Hanoi, where he met with Vietnamese Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Vo Van Thang respectively, Prime Minister Pham Minh Zheng and Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue.

The statement said: “China and Vietnam are good neighbours, good friends, good comrades, good partners and both socialist countries led by the Communist Party.”

Both sides also agreed that the development of relations between countries should abide by the United Nations Charter, international law and the basic norms of international relations.

China and Vietnam have set up the China-Vietnam Bilateral Co-operation Steering Committee to focus on six major areas.

Vietnamese leaders have been invited to visit China in the near future.

Tensions over disputed territory in the South China Sea have sometimes put the two socialist countries at loggerheads, including over the role of the US military in Asia.