Vietnam’s leader To Lam landed in China on Sunday to begin a three-day visit which will see him meet President Xi Jinping, with the communist neighbours discussing rail links and conflict in the South China Sea
The Vietnamese president, who was elevated this month to the nation’s top position, general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, arrived in Guangzhou, state broadcaster CCTV reported, and is also due to meet China’s Premier Li Qiang.
Lam will also visit some Chinese locations where former President Ho Chi Minh conducted revolutionary activities while in Guangzhou, CCTV added.
China and Vietnam first forged diplomatic ties in 1950. In 2008, both countries established a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation that was jointly fortified in 2013 to address more shared international and regional issues of concern.
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The meeting would confirm the close ties between the two communist-run neighbours, which have well-developed economic and trade relations despite occasionally clashing over boundaries in the energy-rich South China Sea.
China painted Lam’s visit as taking Xi’s trip to Vietnam in December a step further, citing “a good start” to the building of a “China-Vietnam community of shared future that carries strategic significance” when the Chinese foreign ministry announced the trip.
The state visit marks Lam’s first after taking office, which China said “fully reflects the great importance he attaches to the development of ties between both parties and countries”.
Both countries signed more than a dozen agreements last December that included strengthening railway cooperation and development, and establishing communication to handle unexpected incidents in the South China Sea. The details of the agreements were not made public.
- Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara
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