Vietnam’s Communist Party chief to be first foreign leader to visit China after 20th congress
- Nguyen Phu Trong’s arrival on Sunday comes as Vietnam and the US are in talks over strengthening ties
- On Sunday, Trong congratulated Xi Jinping and celebrated ‘Xi’s sincere concern and great contribution to Vietnam-China relations’
Trong’s trip comes as his country is in talks with the United States over strengthening ties between the former warring enemies.
Invited by Xi, Trong will visit for four days, becoming the first foreign official to visit China since the close of the party congress and leadership reshuffle in which Xi secured an unprecedented third term as Communist Party chief and ushered in his new leadership team.
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Trong has held the highest position in Vietnam, general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, since 2011, and was president between 2018 and 2021.
On Sunday, he congratulated Xi on his re-election as general secretary of the Central Committee and lauded “Xi’s sincere concern and great contribution to Vietnam-China relations for the benefit of the people of the two countries”.
“The high-level visit is an important signal to Beijing, and the world, that Hanoi wants to maintain healthy Sino-Vietnamese relations,” he said. “It is also meaningful in that Xi and Trong are both ‘path-breaking’ [by staying] in power for more than two tenures.”
