Xiong Bo, Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam, addresses a reception marking the 69th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam in Hanoi, Vietnam, Jan. 17, 2019. The China-Vietnam relations have maintained a sound momentum of development with complementary advantages and huge potential for enhancing cooperation, Chinese Ambassador Xiong Bo said here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Wang Di)

HANOI, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The China-Vietnam relations have maintained a sound momentum of development with complementary advantages and huge potential for enhancing cooperation, Chinese Ambassador Xiong Bo said here on Thursday.

Xiong made the remarks at a reception marking the 69th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam.

In 2018, the bilateral trade volume between China and Vietnam reached a record high of nearly 150 billion U.S. dollars, while Chinese investment in Vietnam surged, and China accounted for the largest number of foreign tourists to Vietnam, with roughly 5 million people, said the ambassador.

He said that under the new situation, it is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples that China and Vietnam continue to strengthen unity and friendship, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

Attending the reception, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and minister of agriculture and rural development, said that in 2018, Vietnam and China made many progresses in various fields of cooperation.

Last year amid complex changes in the world economy, Vietnam and China worked hard to overcome difficulties and maintain economic stability and rapid growth, Cuong said, adding that economic and trade cooperation continued to be one of the highlights of bilateral relations.

Cuong expressed his belief that the two sides will continue cooperating closely in 2019 and strive to promote stable and healthy development of the bilateral relations.