Both sides were pleased with work progress this year and proposed joint programs next year, including a study and comparison of the Holocene sedimentary architecture of Vietnam’s Red River Basin and China's Yangtze River Basin; and a study on maritime and island management in the Gulf of Tonkin.  The two sides agreed to boost maritime cooperation in less sensitive fields on the basis of equality and mutual benefit in relations to available resources. They agreed to hold the next round of negotiations next year in Vietnam.