China's Xi urges stronger Vietnam ties as anger brews over visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday said he hoped for a "higher level" partnership with Vietnam on a visit that has angered Vietnamese nationalists at a time of bubbling conflict over the South China Sea. On arriving in Hanoi, Xi said he hoped the visit would "consolidate (their) traditional friendship" and lift Sino-Vietnamese "cooperation to a higher level" in a statement released in Vietnamese. The Chinese leader was welcomed with a 21-gun salute before being greeted by ruling Communist Par