THE restoration yesterday of rail links between China and Vietnam will boost the settlement of outstanding border disputes, officials from both countries said.
Both sides said privately they had to put aside unresolved differences to get trains running for the first time since Chinese tanks invaded in February 1979.
'We hope that a smooth reopening will mean that other areas of dispute can be resolved,' said Chai Puan, deputy director of the Vietnamese Railway Ministry's department of foreign co-operation.
'As long as both countries follow international practice, other things will be sorted out,' Mr Puan said.
His comments followed calls from both sides for a new era of peace and co-operationas trains carrying diplomats and dignitaries rumbled across the border at Lang Son and Lao Cai.
Some 300 metres of territory remain in dispute between Lang Son and Guangxi province, one of a number of territorial hiccups following the Sino-Vietnamese war in 1979.
Talks are continuing, with Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Khoan holding private sessions with Beijing counterpart Tang Jiaxuan during yesterday's celebrations.