The visit is made at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and his spouse, and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vo Van Thuong and his spouse, according to the CPV Central Committee's Commission for External Relations.

It is the third visit to Vietnam by the Chinese General Secretary and President since the end of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November 2012 in his capacity as the Party General Secretary. It is a reciprocal visit following Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's visit to China last year, and it marks the third mutual visit by leaders of the two Parties since 2015.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency ahead the visit, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai said that the visit will help deepen and elevate the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

According to Ambassador Mai, the December 12-13 visit takes place at a meaningful time as the two countries are celebrating the 15th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

It will be a continuation of high-level exchange activities between the two Parties and the two countries since the historic visit to China by Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong from October 30 to November 1, 2022.

The visit demonstrates the importance the Chinese Party and State and General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping attach to Vietnam - China relations, Mai said.

During the visit, high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and countries will have in-depth discussions on major, comprehensive orientations on deepening and elevating the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China; promote exchanges between senior leaders of the two Parties and countries to further consolidate political trust; and actively bolster areas of collaboration, contributing to bringing bilateral relations to a more substantive and effective stage of development. 

According to Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo, the visit presents a very important opportunity for leaders of both countries to maintain and enhance strategic exchanges in the new situation, on the back of the solid foundation of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership over the past 15 years. It aims to determine the new position of the bilateral relations in the new era, set a new direction for further development, and open up new prospects for cooperation in various fields. It will create new momentum for the sustainable development of the China-Vietnam relationship. In summary, it could be characterised as a new positioning, a new direction and new momentum./.VNA