21-gun salute to welcome Chinese President to Vietnam

At the invitation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Tran Dai Quang, General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping paid a State visit to Vietnam from November 12-13. The official welcoming ceremony for General Secretary Xi Jinping took place this afternoon (November 12) at the Presidential Palace.

16h, President Tran Dai Quang and Chinese President Xi Jinping began the flag-raising ceremony and performed the national anthems of the two countries.

A series of cannons fired in succession during the solemn welcoming ceremony, as the Chinese President's motorcade entered the Presidential Palace. Traffic on Hoang Dieu Street was allowed to flow again. The air was still filled with the strong smell of gunpowder.

The force in charge of firing the cannon to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping completed the mission.

Can see the cannons lined up one after another, firing continuously.

The motorcade carrying the Chinese President entered the Presidential Palace between two rows of flag-waving children.

15:50, the motorcade carrying Chinese President Xi Jinping sped along Tran Duy Hung Street.

At this time, at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, where the celebratory cannon shot will be held, the cannon area is still covered. Military and police forces are on strict guard. A "No filming or photography" sign is posted outside.

The saluting gun firing area was enclosed within the Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's motorcade heads to the Presidential Palace

15:45The military band began to march into the lobby of the Presidential Palace.

Military band prepares for welcoming ceremony of Chinese President

The ceremonial team has taken their positions.

15:35On the routes where President Xi Jinping's motorcade is expected to pass (Do Duc Duc - Tran Duy Hung - Kim Ma - Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum area), police and military forces have set up checkpoints and tightened security.

Hoang Minh Giam Street is temporarily closed.

The welcoming ceremony for General Secretary - President of China Xi Jinping will be held with the highest ceremony, 21 cannon salutes will be fired at Thang Long Imperial Citadel to welcome the General Secretary of China on a State visit to Vietnam.

Scene at the Presidential Palace, where the welcoming ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping took place

A child will participate in the welcoming ceremony for the Chinese President at the Presidential Palace.

The official welcoming ceremony for General Secretary - President of China Xi Jinping took place at the Presidential Palace at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon (photo: Trong Trinh)

During the visit, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping will have important meetings with leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam. After the official welcoming ceremony, the leaders of the two countries will hold talks and witness the signing of cooperation documents.

The General Secretary and President of China will have a number of people-to-people exchange activities in Hanoi. On November 13, the leaders of the two countries will attend the inauguration ceremony of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace in Hanoi.

The visit of General Secretary and President Xi Jinping is of great significance to the Vietnam-China relationship. This is the first foreign visit of General Secretary and President Xi Jinping since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

The visit took place in the context of Vietnam-China relations continuing to develop positively in recent times. High-ranking leaders of the two countries regularly meet and contact each other.

During the visits to China by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (January 2017), President Tran Dai Quang (May 2017), and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (September 2016), senior leaders of the two Parties and countries reached important common perceptions on continuing to promote the stable and healthy development of the Vietnam-China strategic cooperative partnership.

Vietnam affirms its consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralization, consistently attaching importance to developing stable and long-term relations with China on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, promoting positive trends, maintaining high-level delegation exchanges, strengthening relations between the two Parties and two States; promoting strategic exchanges, and increasing political trust between senior leaders of the two countries.

Promote the improvement of the effectiveness of cooperation in the fields of economics, trade and investment; protect Vietnam's legitimate interests in the East Sea on the basis of international law, consolidate high-level common awareness on good control of disagreements, jointly maintain peace and stability in the East Sea, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region as well as in the world.

China is currently Vietnam's largest trade partner and tourism market, and the 8th largest investor out of 112 countries and territories investing directly in Vietnam. Vietnam has become China's largest trade and tourism partner in ASEAN.

According to Dan Tri