Beijing - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Monday toured a "special economic zone" in the southern island province of Hainan as he began a six-day visit to China.

Members of the 70-strong Vietnamese business delegation travelling with Nguyen wanted to learn from China's experience in developing its special economic zones, the official Xinhua news agency reported from Hainan.

China developed the economic zones from the 1980s as insulated coastal areas designed to attract foreign capital and pilot the opening of the economy.

Nguyen visited Hainan's Yangpu economic zone on Monday and will attend a Sino-Vietnamese economic cooperation forum on Tuesday, the agency said.

The Vietnamese leader is on his first official visit to China since taking office in 2006.

He is scheduled to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and attend the seventh leaders' summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on Friday and Saturday in Beijing. (dpa)