Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrives in Hanoi, beginning official visit to Vietnam

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, and Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu welcomed the Chinese leader and his entourage at the Noi Bai International Airport.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai, this is the first visit to Vietnam by a Chinese premier in 11 years and also the first by Li as the Chinese Premier, demonstrating the respect of the Chinese Party and State and Li himself for the relations with Vietnam.

The trip takes place in the context that the two nations are gearing towards the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations (Jan. 18, 1950-2025) as well as following the state visits by China's Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping to Vietnam in December 2023 and Vietnam's Party General Secretary and President To Lam to China in August, and a tour of China by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions and working sessions in the country in June.

During his stay in Vietnam, Li is scheduled to have meetings with To Lam and Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man, and hold talks with his counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, the diplomat said, adding the high-ranking leaders of both sides will discuss measures to continue effectively realizing the common perceptions reached by the top leaders of the two parties and states and to further consolidate political trust.

Of note, the two PMs will focus their discussion on specific solutions to expanding and improving the efficiency and quality of cooperation areas, thus deepening substantive collaboration and bringing benefits to the two countries' people, he said.

China has consistently been Vietnam's largest trading partner and its second-largest export market. Vietnam is China's largest trading partner in ASEAN and the fifth-largest trading partner globally. Trade turnover between the two countries reached $171.9 billion in 2023.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Vietnam in the first half of this year surpassed 2023's total, reaching nearly 1.9 million. Vietnam currently has 23,000 students studying in China, double the number from the pre-Covid-19 period.