Beijing has portrayed itself in the region as a reliable alternative to an erratic US President Donald Trump, who launched sweeping tariffs last year that unsettled global trade.

"In the face of a current international landscape characterised by intertwined turbulence and change, it is essential for China and Vietnam... to strengthen strategic communication and deepen strategic coordination," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Friday.

Wang, Dong, and Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong will meet their Vietnamese counterparts and discuss topics "including bilateral political and security cooperation, combating crime, defence collaboration, and the international and regional situation", Guo said.

They will be in Vietnam until Tuesday.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Vietnam's General Secretary To Lam in Hanoi in April 2025 that the two countries should "oppose unilateral bullying".

The two Asian neighbours signed 45 cooperation agreements, including on supply chains, artificial intelligence, joint maritime patrols and railway development.

China and Vietnam have close economic ties, but Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijing's assertiveness in the contested South China Sea.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, upon which Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei also have claims.