Prime Minister Li Qiang presided over the welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on an official visit to China.

Attending the welcoming ceremony on the Chinese side were Foreign Minister Qin Gang; Minister of Industry and Information Jin Zhuanglong; Director of the National Development and Reform Commission Zheng Cejie; Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao; Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng; Director of the State Capital Management Commission Zhang Yuzhuo; Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo; Director of the Prime Minister's Office Kang Xuping; Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong; Director of the Asian Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China Liu Jingsong.

When the motorcade carrying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation arrived at the Great Hall of the People, Chinese Premier Li Qiang went out to the lobby to welcome Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Inside the lobby, after the two Prime Ministers introduced the delegations participating in the welcoming ceremony and walked up to the podium, the national anthems of Vietnam and China were played. Next, Prime Minister Li Qiang invited Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to inspect the honor guard. After the welcoming ceremony, Prime Minister Li Qiang led the Chinese high-ranking delegation and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh led the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation to hold talks.

This is the first official visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to China, and also the first official visit of a Vietnamese Prime Minister to China in 7 years. The visit is the first direct meeting between key leaders of the two countries after China completed the new leadership positions of the State.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to China takes place in the context of the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership maintaining a development trend and achieving many positive results. Vietnam-China political trust has been enhanced; economic, trade and investment cooperation has maintained growth. Vietnam is China's fourth largest trading partner in the world; two-way trade turnover in 2022 will reach 175 billion USD, accounting for 1/4 of the total trade turnover between China and ASEAN.

This visit aims to concretize the results of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's official visit to China at the end of 2022. The two sides will review the results of cooperation achieved in the past time, propose directions and tasks to consolidate and develop friendly and cooperative relations in the coming time, especially measures to expand and improve the effectiveness of cooperation in all fields, promote the removal of obstacles in cooperation; exchange in the spirit of friendship, frankness, sincerity, respect, mutual understanding, for peace, cooperation and development.

According to VNA