China and Vietnam both should be happy with the positive outcome of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang's visit to Beijing this week. Though it is unrealistic to expect the differences between the two neighbors to be resolved during a single visit by a head of state, high-level exchanges are needed to help improve bilateral relations and ease tensions over the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Such visits are not only in the interests of both countries, but also send a positive signal to the region at large.

President Xi Jinping, during his three-hour meeting with Sang on Wednesday, said both sides should "unswervingly march together along the path of friendly cooperation" despite the problems and distractions. Sang, on his part, promised to carry forward the traditional friendship with China and forge a stronger bilateral relationship to create a favorable atmosphere for both sides' development.

Both leaders endorsed multiple initiatives aimed at facilitating mutual understanding, deepening mutual trust and expanding cooperation in a wide range of fields. They pledged to raise the bilateral trade volume to $60 billion before 2015, increase people-to-people exchanges and cooperate on multilateral levels.

Noticeably, the top leaders reached an agreement over the South China Sea dispute, by emphasizing that they would handle their differences properly and not allow the dispute to harm the development of bilateral ties. It is important that the two sides abide by this agreement in all their future interactions in order to anchor their relations in a more stable terrain.

China is committed to forging friendly ties with its neighbors, including Vietnam, because the responsibility to do so is ingrained in its pursuit of peaceful development. Besides, China needs to maintain a good environment in the region to help its economic and social advancement. Being aware of the concerns of the outside world over how China would project its power, Chinese leaders have repeatedly tried to drive home the message that it will never seek to establish regional or global hegemony.

This train of thought may well explain why China has exercised restraint even when some countries have inflamed the situation in the South China Sea. Concerns over China's so-called rising assertiveness in the South China Sea and the East China Sea have been raised because it has been forced to take countermeasures against the countries trying to encroach on its maritime territories.