Top Chinese leader begins state visit to Vietnam

State President Luong Cuong (R) welcomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping at the Noi Bai International Airport. (Photo: VNA)

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping arrived in Hanoi on April 14 noon, beginning his two-day state visit to Vietnam.

The visit is made at the invitations of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and State President Luong Cuong.

Welcoming the Chinese leader at the Noi Bai International Airport were State President Luong Cuong; Tran Cam Tu, Politburo member, permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat; Le Hoai Trung, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party Central Committee Office; Tran Sy Thanh, member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee; Nguyen Minh Vu, alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Pham Thanh Binh, Ambassador of Vietnam to China.

Xi is accompanied by Cai Qi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of the committee’s Secretariat and Chief of the committee’s Office; Wang Yi, Politburo member, Director of the Office of the CPC Central Committee’s Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Foreign Affairs; Wang Xiaohong, Minister of Public Security; Liu Jianchao, head of the CPC Central Committee’s International Liaison Commission; Dong Jun, Minister of National Defence; and other officials.

An art performance programme is held at the Noi Bai International Airport to welcome the top Chinese leader. (Photo: VNA)

The Chinese leader and his entourage were greeted at the airport with exciting drum performances by 200 artists, along with dance performances by 54 young girls dressed in the traditional costumes of 54 ethnic groups across Vietnam.

A large number of Vietnamese people, Chinese nationals in Vietnam, and officials and staff members of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam held flags of the two countries and banners expressing the traditional bilateral friendship, warmly welcoming the Chinese delegation.

This is Xi's fourth state visit to Vietnam as China's top leader, and the second within his current term. It demonstrates the high regard that the Chinese Party and State, as well as the leader personally, place on strengthening the friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and China.

The visit takes place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 75th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations (January 18, 1950 - January 18, 2025). This visit contributes to promoting and deepening the framework of the Vietnam - China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and the Vietnam - China Community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, thus bringing the bilateral relationship to a new height.

Since the two countries established the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2008, especially after the historic mutual visits of the top leaders of the two Parties and the two countries in recent years, the bilateral relationship has made strong, comprehensive and remarkable development steps in many fields. The two Parties and two countries always strive to foster the bilateral ties, continue to deepen and elevate the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, and build a "Vietnam-China Community with a shared future that carries strategic significance". The two countries have set out the "six major orientations”, including higher political trust; more practical defence-security cooperation; deeper practical cooperation; more solid social foundation; closer multilateral coordination; and better control and settlement of disagreements. The two sides assessed that the bilateral relationship is now at its most profound, comprehensive and substantive level ever.

Taking place less than a year after the State visit to China by Party General Secretary To Lam, the ongoing State visit to Vietnam by Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping is an important foreign political event of the two Parties and two countries, with strategic significance and long-term impact on the development of Vietnam-China relations as both countries are entering a new era, the new era of development. The visit is of important significance and symbolic for the bilateral relationship, thereby continuing to maintain the positive development trend, spreading strongly to all levels, sectors, and people, creating a vibrant, effective, and practical atmosphere of cooperation.

It is expected that within the framework of the visit, General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping will have important talks and meetings with Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong Cuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man. They will engage in-depth discussions on strengthening and deepening the bilateral relations, including promoting the tradition of regular high-level exchanges, further consolidating political trust, promoting the effective implementation of high-level common perceptions and signed agreements, expanding and improving the effectiveness and quality of cooperation areas in the direction of "six major orientations", thus deepening practical cooperation and achieving many practical results and new highlights./.