BEIJING, Aug 20 – China rolled out the red carpet on Monday for Vietnam’s top leader To Lam, and the two socialist countries vowed to further enhance their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and advance the building of a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
During their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, welcomed Lam’s state visit to China, which is the Vietnamese leader’s first overseas trip since he became general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee on Aug 3.
Xi said the visit reflects the great importance Lam attaches to the relations between the two parties and the two countries, and also embodies the high level and strategic importance of China-Vietnam ties.
The first stop of Lam’s three-day state visit to China, which started on Sunday, took him to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, where former leader of Vietnam Ho Chi Minh spent time promoting revolutionary activities around a century ago.
Saying that the traditional friendship between the two parties and the two countries is as good as “comrades and brothers”, Xi called for consistent efforts to build the China-Vietnam community with a shared future, a consensus reached between the two sides during his visit to Vietnam in December.
China regards Vietnam as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, Xi said.
