Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, along with his spouse Peng Liyuan, arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday afternoon for a state visit to Vietnam lasting until Wednesday.

Many Vietnamese officials and diplomats, including Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Internal Affairs Phan Dinh Trac, head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung, and chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Tran Sy Thanh, gathered at Noi Bai International Airport to welcome the Chinese leader, his spouse, and their entourage.

Xi’s entourage includes director of the Chinese Party Committee’s General Office Cai Qi, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, director of the Central Policy Research Office Jiang Jinquan, Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong, and Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, among others.

The visit takes place at the invitation of Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his spouse, as well as State President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse.

President Xi’s state visit to Vietnam has fueled high expectations that Beijing and Hanoi will further elevate their relationship, boost cooperation in various sectors, and strengthen their long-lasting traditional friendship, according to China Daily.

In an article published earlier in Vietnam's Nhan Dan (People) newspaper, the Chinese leader said, “This will be my third visit to beautiful Vietnam since I became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China. I feel that I am already immersed in the warmth that people would only have when visiting relatives and neighbors."

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership, he added. 

“No matter how the global environment has changed, our two Parties and countries have worked together to uphold peace and tranquility, pursue development and cooperation, and promote prosperity and progres," Xi said in the article.

"We have found a promising path of jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind.”

Xi’s previous visits to Vietnam as the Chinese Party general secretary and president took place in 2015 and 2017.

In December 2011, he traveled to the Southeast Asian country for an official visit when he was serving as China’s vice-president.

Vietnam is the second country to welcome the Chinese leader without combining multilateral activities this year, following Russia in March. 

China is Vietnam’s largest trade partner, while Vietnam is China's fourth-biggest trade partner in the world and the latter's largest trade partner in ASEAN.

The two sides’ bilateral trade reached US$155.58 billion in January-November this year. Of the total, Vietnam exported $55.98 billion worth of products to its northern neighbor, up 6.2 percent year on year and accounting for 17.3 percent of its total shipments.

The Southeast Asian nation spent $99.6 billion on imports from China, down nine percent over the same period last year, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.

As of September 20 this year, China ranked sixth among the 144 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with over 4,000 active projects and $26 billion in registered capital, news site VnExpress reported.

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