Hanoi  - Vietnam and China have signed an agreement to establish a hotline between the countries' leaders for discussions of urgent disagreements, Vietnamese state media said Friday.

The state-run newspaper Vietnam News reported the agreement was signed in Hanoi Thursday as part of a visit by Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo.

The hotline has been under discussion since a June meeting between Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.

Bingguo was in Vietnam for a meeting of the Steering Committee for China-Vietnam Bilateral Cooperation. At the meeting, the countries agreed to work toward long-term solutions of their territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Vietnam last week protested a Chinese decision to begin tourist visits to an island in the disputed Spratly archipelago, saying it infringed upon Vietnamese sovereignty. The Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea are claimed, wholly or in part, by six countries, including China and Vietnam.

The seabed surrounding the islands is believed to contain rich petroleum deposits.

China is Vietnam's largest trading partner with bilateral trade of more than 20 billion dollars last year. Vietnam's trade deficit with China was 11 billion dollars. (dpa)