General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping.

HÀ NỘI — General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and his spouse Peng Liyuan arrive in Hà Nội on Tuesday morning, starting his State visit to Việt Nam from December 12-13.

The visit is made at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng and his spouse, and President of the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam Võ Văn Thưởng and his spouse, according to the CPV Central Committee's Commission for External Relations.

The entourage accompanying President Xi Jinping on the visit includes Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Cai Qi, Director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission Office and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, head of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee Liu Jianchao, among others.

It is the third visit to Việt Nam by the Chinese General Secretary and President since the end of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November 2012 in his capacity as the Party General Secretary. It is a reciprocal visit following General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng's visit to China last year, and it marks the third mutual visit by leaders of the two Parties since 2015.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency ahead the visit, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Phạm Sao Mai said the visit will help deepen and elevate the Việt Nam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

According to Ambassador Mai, the December 12-13 visit takes place at a meaningful time as the two countries are celebrating the 15th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

It will be a continuation of high-level exchange activities between the two Parties and the two countries since the historic visit to China by Vietnamese Party leader Trọng from October 30 to November 1, 2022.

The visit demonstrates the importance the Chinese Party and State and General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping attach to Việt Nam-China relations, Mai said.

During the visit, high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and countries will have in-depth discussions on major, comprehensive orientations on deepening and elevating the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Việt Nam and China; promote exchanges between senior leaders of the two Parties and countries to further consolidate political trust; and actively bolster areas of collaboration, contributing to bringing bilateral relations to a more substantive and effective stage of development.

According to Chinese Ambassador to Việt Nam Xiong Bo, the visit presents a very important opportunity for leaders of both countries to maintain and enhance strategic exchanges in the new situation, on the solid foundation of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership over the past 15 years. It aims to determine the new position of the bilateral relations in the new era, set a new direction for further development, and open up new prospects for cooperation in various fields. It will create a new momentum for the sustainable development of the China-Việt Nam relationship. In summary, it could be characterised as a new positioning, a new direction and new momentum. — VNS