The MoU was signed by People's Bank of China (PBOC) governor Pan Gongsheng and Nguyen Thi Hong, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, PBOC said in a statement.

The signing occurred during the three-day official visit of Vietnamese President To Lam to China.

Both leaders witnessed the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation agreements in fields like mutual connectivity, industry, finance, customs inspection and health.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the visit reflects the great importance Lam attaches to the relations between the two parties and the two countries, and also embodies the high level and strategic importance of China-Vietnam ties.

Lam succeeded Nguyen Phu Trong, who passed away last month, and has been serving as the Vietnamese president since May.

The first stop of Lam's three-day state visit to China, which started on Sunday, took him to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, where former leader of Vietnam Ho Chi Minh spent time promoting revolutionary activities around a century ago.

Saying that the traditional friendship between the two parties and the two countries is as good as "comrades and brothers", Xi called for consistent efforts to build the China-Vietnam community with a shared future, a consensus reached between the two sides during his visit to Vietnam in December.

China regards Vietnam as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, Xi said.

Xi underlined the need for both sides to solidify a pattern for the development of bilateral relations featuring higher political mutual trust, more substantial security cooperation, deeper pragmatic collaboration, stronger public support, closer multilateral coordination and better management of differences, a state-controlled Chinese media outlet reported.

Xi also emphasised the need for both sides to step up the connectivity of railway, highway, port infrastructure and customs and work together to build secure and stable industrial and supply chains.

Lam highlighted the importance of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)