Hanoi (VNA)♈ – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam and State President Luong Cuong hosted a grand banquet in Hanoi on April 14 evening in honour of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of China Xi Jinping, who is leading a high-ranking Chinese delegation on a state visit to Vietnam from April 14-15.

In his address, Lam highlighted the significance of Xi’s visit, which coincides with the 75th founding anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations and the Year of Vietnam-China Humanistic Exchange. He noted that Xi is the highest-ranking leader who has visited Vietnam the most in history. This is Xi's first overseas trip in 2025, showing the great importance and high priority the Chinese Party, State, and Xi personally place on Vietnam and the bilateral relations. Reflecting on history, Lam recalled the solidarity between the two Parties, States, and people during their revolutionary struggles, marked by sincere and effective mutual support. Building on the legacy of President Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao Zedong, successive generations of leaders have nurtured this relationship. Today, he said, their successors have ushered in a new era of development of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and the Vietnam–China Community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

The host announced that both sides had held highly successful talks and reached broad consensus on key directions and measures to further strengthen Vietnam-China relations, paving the way for a more substantive relationship in a new era of prosperity and development for both nations. The fruitful discussions, alongside the shared perceptions reached during Xi’s meetings with State President Luong Cuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, have injected fresh momentum into the bilateral partnership, actively contributing to each country’s development goals and fulfilling the aspirations of the Vietnamese and Chinese people for a brighter future together. In a warm and friendly atmosphere, Lam wished the state visit to Vietnam by the Chinese Party and State leader a success. He also wished for the continued prosperity of both China and Vietnam, and for ever-growing happiness of their people. In his response, Xi expressed his gratitude for the warm and thoughtful welcome extended by the Party, Government, and people of Vietnam. He praised Vietnam’s development achievements, noting its stable political and social environment, rapid economic growth, improving living standards, and active and dynamic diplomacy.

He affirmed that Vietnam is increasingly asserting its important role on the international arena. Xi expressed his confidence that, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, led by Lam, the Vietnamese people will successfully achieve the goals set forth by the 13th National Party Congress, and steadily enter into a new era - the era of Vietnam’s rise. He emphasised that the Vietnam–China relationship features traditional and fraternal relations, and this friendship bond continues to grow stronger. In recent years, the two sides have maintained strategic exchanges and jointly charted the course for the development of China–Vietnam relations in the new era, ushering in a new phase of building a China–Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. The Chinese leader stated that, standing at a new historical starting point, China is willing to work with Vietnam to stay true to the original aspiration of friendship and remain committed to their shared mission, closely follow the overall goal of the "six major orientations,” including higher political trust, more practical defence-security cooperation, deeper practical cooperation, more solid social foundation, closer multilateral coordination, and better control and settlement of disagreements; firmly promote the building of a China–Vietnam community with a shared future; and join hands to follow the path of modernisation and socialism that brings many benefits to the people of the two countries./.