President Xi Jinping's state visit to Vietnam, his first overseas trip after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, reflects the "special and close relations between the two ruling parties and the two nations", Vietnam's ambassador to China said.

"We are very glad that General Secretary Xi's first visit after the 19th CPC National Congress is to Vietnam," Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi told China Daily in an exclusive interview. "That reflects the great attention that China, the CPC, the Chinese people and General Secretary Xi himself attaches to the China-Vietnam relations."

Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, will also attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting during his visit to Vietnam, which starts on Friday.

Khoi said the relevant departments in Vietnam are working closely with China to ensure that Xi's visit is successful.

"The visit is of great and far-reaching significance. We expect it to contribute to various aspects of our inter-party and inter-nation relations and set the direction and raise a general target for our relations in the coming five years, or longer," Khoi said.

The ambassador said that the top priority of the visit is to exchange experiences, "as the regional and global situations keep changing, the two parties and nations are facing similar opportunities and challenges."

Khoi said one of the things that has impressed him most during his two years as Vietnam's ambassador to China is the frequent top-level visits between Beijing and Hanoi.

In 2015, the general secretaries of the two ruling parties paid mutual visits to each other, and Xi's visit comes after Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, visited China early this year. "That reflects the special relations between our two parties and two nations," Khoi said.

"The experience of developing inter-party and inter-nation relations with China proves that relations between the two ruling parties take the leading role in China-Vietnam relations, while meetings of the top leaders of the two parties are of critical importance."

Vietnam closely watched the 19th CPC National Congress, and there were 10 Vietnamese reporters in Beijing to cover it, Khoi said.

"We noticed that the congress supported Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which will have far-reaching impact on China's future development."

Hanoi also noticed the new development ideas China raised at the congress. "On development there were discussions about the sharing economy and the idea of a community of shared future for mankind," he said.

"Vietnam has all along believed that China's development brings great opportunities for Vietnam and the region. We'd like to talk with China about how to ride the opportunities."

After the congress, Trong sent a special envoy to Beijing to congratulate the Chinese side and learn about the content of the discussions.

"Sending special envoys to each other after important congresses of the ruling parties has become a tradition for the two parties," Khoi said.

"We can learn about the congress from the media. But by sending an envoy, we can learn more detailed content, which is important. Besides, for us Asians, a face-to-face talk is more amicable, and much better than a phone call."

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(China Daily 11/10/2017 page4)