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

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BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping called for prioritizing infrastructure connectivity with Vietnam and more cooperation on emerging fields like artificial intelligence and semiconductors during a meeting Wednesday with Vietnam's newly elected president, the state broadcaster said.

Vietnamese President 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.

Chinese state broadcaster 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 top 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.

Both leaders attended a signing ceremony of cooperation documents, covering areas ranging from inter-party exchanges and public security to technology and people’s livelihoods, official news agency Xinhua reported.

Lam, Vietnam's Communist Party general secretary, was elected last week as president for a five-year term, consolidating his control over both the party and the state.

The move departs from Vietnam’s tradition of shared leadership, in which the jobs have typically been held by different people, and echoes the power structures in China and neighboring Laos.