Vietnam

In a meeting with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Xi said China and Vietnam represent a strategically significant community with a shared future.

He called on the two sides to take effective actions to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Xi said the two countries should better leverage the mechanisms of exchanges between the two parties and deepen mutual learning based on experiences in governance.

The two nations should boost strategic connectivity between the Belt and Road Initiative and Vietnam's Two Corridors and One Economic Circle, and advance cooperation in infrastructure, production capacity and cross-border economic zones, he said.

Xi called for raising the level of connectivity between the two countries so as to move forward the coordinated development of the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Phuc called China a brother and close neighbor of Vietnam and said the two countries share a common socialist cause and similar development goals.

Vietnam supports China in making greater contributions to peace and prosperity to the region and the world at large, he said.

Also on Thursday, Xi sent a condolence message to his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Phu Trong on the death of former Vietnamese president Le Duc Anh, expressing heartfelt condolences over Anh's death and sincere sympathy to all members of his family.