Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and president of China, arrived in the central Vietnamese city of Danang yesterday, beginning a state visit to the Southeast Asian nation.

Hu, at the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nong Duc Manh and the country's President Nguyen Minh Triet, said in a written statement delivered upon arrival at the airport that the Chinese side is delighted to see Vietnam's achievements under the CPV's leadership.

He said the Chinese side is convinced that the Vietnamese people will build the country into a modern socialist industrialized country under the CPV's leadership.

In the statement, Hu reviewed the traditional friendship between the two peoples as the countries are friendly neighbors sharing mountains and waters.

He said continuous and important new progresses have been made in the new century in Sino-Vietnamese relations under the guidance of the principles of long-term stability, future-orientation, good neighborly friendship and overall cooperation.

Meanwhile, bilateral friendly exchanges and cooperation have been furthered, and the two countries and their peoples have become good neighbors, friends, comrades and partners, Hu noted.

Hu said he is looking forward to exchanging views with Vietnamese leaders on the relations between the two parties and the two countries, as well as international and regional issues of common concern.

This visit will help promote bilateral traditional friendship and cooperation in various fields, and facilitate the development of bilateral good neighborly friendship and overall cooperation, Hu added.

Chinese statistics show that the Sino-Vietnamese trade volume last year reached over 8 billion U.S. dollars, and the figure in 2006 is expected to exceed 10 billion U.S. dollars.

Hu is also scheduled to attend the 14th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting slated for Nov. 17-19 in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

Vietnam is the first leg of Hu's four-nation tour, which will also take him to Laos, India and Pakistan.