On the afternoon of November 10, General Secretary Xi Jinping arrived in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang to attend APEC Vietnam 2017. General Secretary Xi attended the APEC Business Leaders Summit and delivered a keynote speech,[9] attended two phases of the informal leaders' meeting and working luncheon, attended the Dialogue between APEC Leaders and ASEAN Leaders, and the Dialogue between APEC Leaders and Representatives of the APEC Business Advisory Council. General Secretary Xi announced at the APEC meeting that China will host the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November 2018.[10] Xi also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the period.[11][12]
On November 12, General Secretary Xi fled from Da Nang to Hanoi for an official state visit to Vietnam.[22] General Secretary Xi held talks with Nguyễn Phú Trọng, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, at which the two sides reached a consensus on deepening the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership.[23] After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of memorandums of cooperation on "One Belt, One Road" and "Two Corridors, One Circle", as well as documents in the fields of production capacity, energy, cross-border economic cooperation zones, e-commerce, human resources, economy and trade, finance, culture, health, information, social sciences and border defense.[24] Later, General Secretary Xi met with the Chairman of National Assembly of VietnamNguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, with the two sides saying they will strengthen cooperation at all levels of the legislature.[25][23] The two attended the inauguration and handover ceremony of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace and the opening ceremony of the Hanoi China Cultural Center.[26][27]
On November 13, Xi met again with Nguyễn Phú Trọng. After the meeting, the two went to Ho Chi Minh's former residence to continue their exchanges.[28] General Secretary Xi paid homage to President Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and laid a wreath.[29] Then, General Secretary Xi held talks with President of VietnamTrần Đại Quang.[30][31]
On the same day General Secretary Xi ended his state visit to Vietnam, Trần Quốc Vượng, the permanent secretary of the Central Secretariat and head of the Central Inspection Committee, waited at the airport to see him off.[32]
On November 13, General Secretary Xi arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos on the banks of the Mekong River, beginning the state visit to Lao People's Democratic Republic.[33] The Standing Secretary of the Central Secretariat and Vice President of LaosPhankham Viphavanh and the Secretary of the Vientiane Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Vientiane Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune, and Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, greeted the Chinese delegation at the Vadodara Airport.[32]
On November 13, General Secretary Xi Jinping held talks with Bounnhang Vorachit, the General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of Laos. The two sides agreed to accelerate the dovetailing of China's Belt and Road Initiative with Laos' strategy of "turning a land-locked country into a land-connected country". After the talks, Xi and Bounnhang witnessed the signing of cooperation documents in the areas of China-Laos economic corridor construction, infrastructure construction, digital Silk Road, science and technology, agriculture, electricity, human resources, finance and water conservancy.[34] General Secretary Xi also held meeting with Choummaly Sayasone, former General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and former State President, in Vientiane.[35]
Same day, Xi met with friends of the Pholsena family of Laos in Vientiane. The Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Laos Quinim Pholsena, who was assassinated, and his wife seriously wounded in the 1962. Their children were sheltering in China at the time. Some of them enrolled in Beijing Bayi School and were classmates of Xi Jinping.[42][43]
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