China's President Xi Jinping said Tuesday in his talks with Vietnam's Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong that Beijing is ready to deepen the bilateral partnership and build a "community with a shared future," according to the Chinese media.
China regards its relations with Vietnam as "a priority" in its neighborhood diplomacy, Xi told the leader as he visited the country for the first time since 2017, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
With joint efforts, China-Vietnam ties will "enter a new stage of greater political mutual trust, more solid security cooperation, deeper mutually beneficial cooperation," Xi added, according to the report.
Xi's trip came after the United States and Vietnam announced during President Joe Biden's visit to Hanoi in September an upgrade of their relations to the Southeast Asian country's highest diplomatic ranking, on par with its ties with China and Russia.
During his two-day visit, Xi is also scheduled to meet with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
The two Asian neighbors have been engaged in territorial disputes in the South China Sea but maintain strong economic ties. China is Vietnam's largest trading partner, while Vietnam is China's fourth largest.
Xi's visit came ahead of a summit to be held Sunday in Tokyo between Japan and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Vietnam, to commemorate 50 years of bilateral friendship and cooperation.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed with Thuong in November in Tokyo to deepen bilateral maritime security cooperation.
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