HANOI, MAY 11 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and his wife kick off a five-day state visit to China on Thursday, where he will also attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

The visit and attendance at the forum is made at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Quang's trip aims to maintain the development momentum of the cooperation between the two countries and parties, increase political trust and bilateral cooperation efficiency in economy, trade and investment, and popularize Vietnam's investment attraction policies for Chinese businesses, Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA reported on Thursday.

Vietnam supports initiatives and efforts to bolster economic and regional connectivity in the common interests of countries and the region, the VNA said.

Over the years, Vietnam and China have maintained regular high-level visits to advance their comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation.

The two countries have also expanded cooperation in various sectors -- including economy and trade, investment and tourism -- at ministerial and local levels.

While China remains the largest trading partner of Vietnam, Vietnam surpassed Malaysia last year to become the largest trading partner of China in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

According to Chinese statistics, two-way trade between Beijing and Hanoi reached 87.8 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2016, an increase of 1.6 percent year on year.

In the same period, Vietnam's export to China amounted to 32.96 billion dollars, up 20.8 percent year on year, and its trade deficit with China fell by 31 percent.