BEIJING, April 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - China's President Xi Jinping met with Vietnam's leader To Lam in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese state media reported.

The visit is Lam's first foreign trip since the Communist Party leader was elected as president -- the number two position in Vietnamese politics -- last week, unifying leadership of the party and state, as Xi did in China.

"On the morning of April 15, Xi Jinping... held talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with To Lam, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and president of the country, who is paying a state visit to China," state broadcaster CCTV said.

Despite rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, the two countries have sought to deepen already close economic ties to guard against global trade upheaval caused by US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Xi congratulated the Vietnamese leader last week on his election and expressed his willingness "to work with To Lam... to continuously strengthen our respective socialist causes", Chinese state media reported at the time.