President Tran Dai Quang and his spouse are welcomed at Beijing Capital International Airport by Chinese officials (Photo: VNA)Beijing (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang and hisspouse set foot in Beijing at 12 noon on May 11 (local time), beginning a Statevisit to China until May 15 during which he will also attend the high-levelforum on the Belt and Road Initiative.
The Vietnamese leader was met at Beijing CapitalInternational Airport by Chinese Minister of Culture Luo Shugang, ChineseAmbassador to Vietnam Hong Xiaoyong, and Vietnamese Ambassador to China DangMinh Khoi, among others.
The State visit is made at the invitation ofParty General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping amidst growingrelations in various spheres between the two countries.
Senior leaders of the two Parties and countrieshave maintained regular meetings and reached an important common agreement onthe continuation of developing the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategiccooperative partnership in a stable and healthy manner.
Cooperation between the two sides’ ministries,sectors and localities have been strengthened while economic, trade, investmentand tourism partnerships are being expanded.
In 2016, bilateral trade approximated 72 billionUSD, up 7.9 percent from the previous year. China continued to be the biggesttrade partner of Vietnam, which in turn is the largest ASEAN trade partner ofChina.
By the end of March 2017, China had invested inmore than 1,600 projects worth over 11 billion USD in Vietnam, ranking eighthamong 116 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation.
About 2.7 million Chinese visitors came toVietnam in 2016, soaring 51 percent from a year earlier, making China the topsource of foreign tourists to Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnam also had the biggestnumber of tourists to China, 2.2 million, compared to other ASEANcountries.-VNA
VNA
