Vietnam and China agreed to elevate their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership based on the motto of “friendly neighborliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability and future-oriented thinking” and the spirit of "good neighbors, good friends, good comrades, good partners" during the visit of General Secretary Nong Duc Manh to Beijing in mid-2008.
In the photo above, Manh (right) and Chinese President Hu Jintao review a guard of honor at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
On Dec. 31, 2008, the two countries completed the demarcation of their land border.
In October 2011 General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (L) held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.
During this visit the two sides signed an agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues.
In June 2013 President Truong Tan Sang made his first state visit to China.
It was also the first visit by a senior Vietnamese leader after Xi Jinping became general secretary and president of China.
The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in economics, trade, culture, sports, tourism, education, health, and science and technology.
Sang expressed the hope China would increase investment in major projects in infrastructure construction, manufacturing and supporting industries with modern and advanced technologies.
In the same year, 2013, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang (L) visited Vietnam from Oct. 13 to 15 and met senior Vietnamese leaders, including President Truong Tan Sang (R).
During Li’s talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the two sides agreed to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), enhance trust, promote cooperation, and maintain peace and stability in the East Sea based on the spirit and principles of the DOC and consensus, and work towards the adoption of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea.
President Truong Tan Sang (L) met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 10, 2014, during his visit to attend the 22nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting.
Xi assured China’s support for Vietnam to successfully organize the 2017 APEC Summit, and expressed the hope that the two sides would maintain cooperation and coordination within the forum.
In April 2015, which marked the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visited China and held talks with President Xi Jinping.
During their talks, Trong and Xi said though Vietnam and China's bilateral relations have had ups and downs, friendly cooperation and positive development were still the mainstream.
In September 2015 President Truong Tan Sang visited China and in turn invited Xi to visit Vietnam.
In November 2015 Xi visited Vietnam.
He said his country attached great importance to its friendship with Vietnam.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) paid an official visit to China from Sept. 10 to 15, 2016, at the invitation of his counterpart Li Keqiang (R).
It was the first visit to China by a senior Vietnamese leader after the 12th Party Congress.
Phuc also attended the China - ASEAN Expo and the 13th China - ASEAN Trade and Investment Summit in Nanning in Guangxi Province.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and a high-level Vietnamese delegation visited China in January 2017.
During his visit Trong welcomed Chinese investment in Vietnam and exhorted them to use advanced, environment-friendly technologies, prioritize agriculture, technology, machine tool manufacturing, supporting industries, and renewable and clean energy, combine investment with technology transfer, and develop high-quality human resources.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam in November 2017.
It was his first overseas visit after the Communist Party’s 19th congress, and his second to Vietnam as general secretary and president of his country.
In this photo, he is seen with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at President Ho Chi Minh's stilt house in Hanoi.
During Xi’s visit, the two sides issued a joint statement emphasizing that they would always view Vietnam-China relations with a strategic and long-term vision, and steadfastly have friendly policies toward each other.
After China opened its borders after the Covid-19 pandemic, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong headed a Vietnamese delegation on an official visit to China from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, 2022.
Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Trong at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 31 with a 21-gun salute, commonly recognized as the highest ceremonial honor.
Xi awarded the Friendship Medal to Trong, and said that he was a "good and true friend" of China, "one who guides and supports the two countries' comprehensive strategic cooperation."
On June 25 this year Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived in Beijing for his first official visit to China amid the two countries’ celebration of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
In the photo, Chinh (right) and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang inspect a guard of honor at the official welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 26.
In September, Chinh again visited China to attend the China-ASEAN Fair and the 20th China-ASEAN Trade and Investment Summit in Nanning, Guangxi Province.
Then during a meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Party Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi on Dec. 1, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong proposed that the two sides should promote comprehensive relations in all fields, increasing high-level exchanges and contacts to provide a strategic direction to their ties.
President Xi Jinping and his wife will visit Vietnam from Dec. 12 to 13 at the invitation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife and President Vo Van Thuong and his wife.
This will be his third visit to Vietnam as general secretary and president of China.
