Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hanoi on Monday to pay a state visit to Vietnam, the Xinhua News Agency reported. On Monday morning, Global Times reporters saw enthusiastic crowds lining the streets — Vietnamese locals, overseas Chinese, students and employees of Chinese enterprises all gathered together holding Chinese and Vietnamese national flags. Some held up red banners reading "Deep China-Vietnam Friendship, Comrades Plus Brothers" and "Long-Lasting China-Vietnam Friendship," while waving the national flags of both countries to welcome Chinese President Xi's arrival.  

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Vietnam from April 14 to 15, at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Luong Cuong, according to Chinese foreign ministry.

Liao Tian, Marketing Director of China Construction Sausum Co., told the Global Times on Monday that he hopes the meeting between the Chinese and Vietnamese leaders will elevate bilateral relations to new heights. "We are very proud to contribute our efforts to global integration and the building of China-Vietnam community with a shared future."

Li Longwei, general manager of Vietnam Yangtze Trung Quoc Construction Company Lmited, a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corporation, arrived in Hanoi on Sunday from the Ho Chi Minh City to welcome Xi's arrival. "It is a crucial time for the two leaders to meet amid global challenges brought by US tariff turmoil," Li said, believing that the meeting can inject stability and more opportunities to Chinese investment in the country.

Nong Mengfan, a Chinese student studying Vietnamese at Vietnam National University in Hanoi, also joined the crowd to welcome President Xi. "I'm so excited right now! I was so thrilled about this moment that I couldn't even sleep last night." 

"If I were to describe China in one word, I would say 'neighbor.' Because China and Vietnam are close neighbors, our people share many similarities. As an ordinary citizen, I hope that President Xi's visit will help bring our two countries even closer and make our relationship better and stronger," Nguyen The Vi, a 45-year-old driver in Hanoi, told the Global Times. 

Speaking of her impression toward China, a Vietnamese tour guide and Chinese translator Xiaoxiaoyun (pseudonym), said learning Chinese has proven to be the right decision. "Some locals don't know much about China and may even have certain prejudices, but after truly interacting with many Chinese people, you will realize how kind and friendly they are." Xiaoxiaoyun hopes the visit can consolidate the long-lasing friendship between the two countries, and support Vietnam in its modernization course.