President Xi Jinping has arrived in Vietnam for a state visit aimed at further deepening ties with the Southeast Asian nation.

Xi received a red carpet welcome on Tuesday as Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh greeted him upon his arrival in Hanoi.

Dozens of Chinese and Vietnamese nationals gathered at the airport, waving Chinese and Vietnamese flags to welcome Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, who accompanied him on the visit.

In his meeting with general secretary of the Vietnam Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, Xi said China firmly supports Vietnam's cause of socialist construction and always sees its ties with Vietnam from a strategic and long-term perspective.

The president added China takes its relations with Vietnam as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi also said with joint efforts, bilateral ties will enter a new stage of greater political mutual trust, more solid security cooperation, deeper mutually beneficial cooperation, stronger popular support, closer multilateral coordination, and better handling of differences.

In an article published on Tuesday in Vietnam's Nhan Dan newspaper, Xi said that "Asia's future is in the hands of no one but Asians".

A "community with a shared future" between the two countries would have strategic significance, he added, while warning against rising "hegemonism" in the world.

This is the president's first visit to Vietnam in six years.

Xi’s trip marks 15 years of China being a comprehensive strategic partner of Vietnam, the highest official designation for a diplomatic relationship. (Agencies)
____________________________
Last updated: 2023-12-12 HKT 21:55