General Secretary Xi Jinping and his wife arrive in Hanoi, beginning their visit to Vietnam.

At exactly 12 noon on December 12, the Air China plane carrying General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan and a high-ranking Chinese delegation landed at Noi Bai Airport (Hanoi).

Accompanying the General Secretary and President of China and his wife were: Politburo Standing Committee member, Secretary of the Secretariat, Director of the Central Office Cai Qi; Politburo member, Director of the Office of the Party Central Committee's Foreign Affairs Commission and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi; Secretariat Secretary, State Councilor, Deputy Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Commission, Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong; Party Central Committee member, Head of the Party Central Committee's External Liaison Department Liu Jianchao.

The delegation also included: Director of the Central Policy Research Office Jiang Jinquan; Director of the National Development and Reform Commission Cheng Sanjie; Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao; Secretary of the Party Committee of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Liu Ning; Secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee Wang Ning; Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo; and leaders of several ministries and branches.

Welcoming the General Secretary and President of China and his delegation at the airport were: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; Head of the Central Internal Affairs Commission Phan Dinh Trac, Head of the Central External Relations Commission Le Hoai Trung, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh; and a number of officials from the Central External Relations Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Many Vietnamese and international reporters were present at the airport very early to capture the first images of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and the delegation in Hanoi.

This afternoon, General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping will attend a State-level welcoming ceremony chaired by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace. Afterwards, the two General Secretaries will lead high-ranking delegations from the two countries to hold talks.

That same evening, the General Secretary and President of China and his wife will attend a reception hosted by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife.

On the second day of his visit, Chinese General Secretary and President Xi Jinping will lay a wreath and pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum. The Chinese leader will then meet with President Vo Van Thuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

Notably, within the framework of the visit, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife, along with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and his wife, will exchange friendship personalities and young generations of Vietnam and China.

The wife of General Secretary and President of China, Ms. Peng Liyuan, will also have a number of cultural and educational activities on this occasion.

This is the first visit by a top Chinese leader to Vietnam after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and one year after General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's visit to China in October 2022.

Mr. Xi Jinping's visit also took place on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries.

This morning, General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping wrote an article of more than 3,000 words in Nhan Dan Newspaper about the relationship between the two countries. He shared that this was the third time he had set foot in the beautiful country of Vietnam since taking up the position of General Secretary and President of China, "feeling extremely close, like visiting relatives and neighbors".

President Xi Jinping also mentioned "four steadfastnesses" in Vietnam - China relations.

The first,trust each other, senior leaders of the two Parties and two countries often visit each other like close relatives.

Second, China - Vietnampersistently harmonizing interests. China has long been Vietnam's largest trading partner, Vietnam is China's largest trading partner in the ASEAN bloc and China's fourth largest trading partner globally. The Chinese leader raised a series of issues on which the two countries have, are, and will cooperate.

Agricultural products imported from Vietnam such as fruits and vegetables are very popular with Chinese consumers. Raw materials and machinery exported from China contribute a lot to the development of Vietnam's manufacturing industry.

The Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway built by a Chinese enterprise is Vietnam's first urban railway, having transported nearly 20 million passengers.

Chinese enterprises have invested in forming the largest foreign solar power industry cluster in Vietnam.

Third, China - Vietnampersistent friendship, intimacyIn the first 10 months of the year, there were more than 1.3 million Chinese tourists coming to Vietnam, the cross-border cooperation tourist area, Duc Thien - Ban Gioc waterfall, has been put into pilot operation.

Traditional Chinese classics are well known to many Vietnamese people, and contemporary Chinese television works are also very popular among Vietnamese people. Many Vietnamese pop songs are very popular on Chinese social networks, and Vietnamese singers receive a large number of Chinese fans when participating in Chinese entertainment television programs.

Finally, China - Vietnampersistently treat sincerelyBoth countries hold high the banner of multilateralism, emphasize persistent dialogue and consultation, peaceful cooperation, and firmly maintain the basic norms of international relations based on the principles and charter of the United Nations Charter.

"Relatives expect good relatives, neighbors expect good neighbors," wrote Mr. Xi Jinping.