Vietnam’s new leader meets Xi on his first overseas trip

Vietnam’s President To Lam, center, arrives in Beijing on Tuesday [AP Photo]

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on Beijing and Hanoi to prioritize advancing infrastructure connectivity and strengthen their collaborations in emerging fields like artificial intelligence and semiconductors during a meeting with Vietnam’s newly elected president, the state broadcaster reported.

To Lam’s four-day trip to China, which began on Tuesday, is his first overseas trip since he was elected last week. That signaled Lam’s foreign policy priorities and stronger ties between the two Communist nations.

CCTV reported that Xi said defending the socialist system and the Communist Party’s ruling position is the greatest common strategic interest between the two parties during their meeting.

He also urged both sides to firmly uphold confidence in their paths and systems and persist in reform without changing direction, the report said.

Lam said Vietnam would regard developing relations with China as its objective need, strategic choice and topic priority. He also said the country is willing to enhance the level of cooperation in various areas, including trade, investment, railways and other infrastructure, CCTV added. MDT/AP