Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Vietnam today comes as the two communist countries seek to mend ties strained over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Bilateral relations plunged to their lowest point in years following China's parking of a giant oil rig near the Paracel islands in an area Vietnam claims is within its exclusive economic zone.


The incident sparked deadly anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam. The two countries have since then been trying to repair ties with high-level contacts and exchanges of visits including the visit to China by Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in April.