China's President Xi Jinping will arrive in Vietnam on Tuesday on a mission to strengthen relations, just months after Washington and Hanoi upgraded their diplomatic ties.

China and Vietnam have a border in common, as well as close economic ties and ruling communist parties, but Xi's two-day trip will be his first visit to the country in six years.

It comes hot on the heels of US President Joe Biden's stopover in Hanoi in September when he sought to shore up support against Beijing's growing influence in the region.

"From China's perspective, the visit is to emphasize that it has not lost Vietnam to the rival camp," said Huong Le Thu, Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the International Crisis Group.

"For Vietnam, it represents its successful 'bamboo diplomacy', in which it is able to maneuver between the competing great powers without being forced to take one side over another," she told AFP.

After an official welcome at the presidential palace on Tuesday, Xi will hold talks with Nguyen Phu Trong, the leader of Vietnam's ruling communist party.

On Wednesday, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the mausoleum of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, before Xi meets Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Vo Van Thuong.

Vietnam and China already share a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam's highest diplomatic status. Hanoi and Washington upgraded to that same level in September.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the visit would involve discussions on "bringing China-Vietnam relations to a higher position".

Items on the agenda include "politics, security, practical cooperation, the formation of public opinion, multilateral issues, and maritime issues", said Wang.

Economic cooperation

Like the United States, Vietnam has concerns about its neighbor's growing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea.