Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Photo: Gia Han/ thanhnien.vn

The Shanghai Observer of the Liberation Daily, the mouthpiece of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, published an in-depth commentary, saying Party leader Trong will be the first foreign leader to pay an official visit to China since the 20th National Party Congress. This will be the first host diplomatic activity after the new leadership of the Communist Party of China Central Committee was elected, thus "attracting the attention of the world".

The article quoted Liu Qing, Vice President and Senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies and Xu Liping, a research fellow on Southeast Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as saying that since the normalization of relations in the early 1990s, exchanges between the two parties have continuously deepened. Their close relationship has become a "clear feature" in the development of relations between the two sides.

Xu said that the visit to Vietnam by Party General Secretary Xi Jinping in 2017 and the upcoming visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong sends three messages: showing the speciality and importance of the bilateral relationship, their special affection, and the guiding role of party exchanges in the Vietnam-China relationship.

According to Liu, both sides treasure the relationship between the two parties and countries. Strengthening political trust and promoting economic and trade cooperation will top the agenda.

The trip is of "special significance", researcher Xu said, from the perspective of regional cooperation, because this year is the first year China established a comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN. Therefore, "the visit will usher in a good start" in deepening strategic cooperation between China and ASEAN, he said.