HANOI, Dec 12, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - China's President Xi Jinping will visit Vietnam for the first time in six years on Tuesday seeking to counter the United States' growing influence with the communist nation.

Xi will meet the leader of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, after it upgraded its diplomatic ties with Washington when US President Joe Biden visited in September.

Biden's visit was part of US efforts around the world to contain China's rising economic power -- and to secure supplies of crucial materials needed for high-tech manufacturing.

Vietnam has long pursued a "bamboo diplomacy" approach, striving to stay on good terms with both powers.

It shares US concerns about Beijing's increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea, but it also has close economic ties with China, while both countries have ruling communist parties.

Vietnam and China already share a "comprehensive strategic partnership", Vietnam's highest diplomatic status. Hanoi and Washington upgraded their relationship to the 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".

That could see Xi push for Vietnam to join his "Community of Common Destiny", a loosely defined phrase that refers to a vision of future cooperation on economic, security and political issues.

Wang said the agenda for Xi's trip includes "politics, security, practical cooperation, the formation of public opinion, multilateral issues and maritime issues".

Xi will hold talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Vo Van Thuong and on Wednesday lay a wreath at the mausoleum of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh.

The two-day visit comes with tensions running high between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, after confrontations between the countries' vessels at flashpoint reefs.

The Philippines said it had summoned China's envoy on Monday and flagged the possibility of expelling him.

Vietnam, along with Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

China has over the past decade expanded land reclamation in the South China Sea, creating militarised islands, with runways, ports and radar systems.

During Biden's visit, Vietnam and the United States jointly warned against the "threat or use of force" in the South China Sea.

And Vietnam was one of several ASEAN members upset by a new official Chinese map published in September, showing sovereignty over almost the entire resource-rich waterway.

Analysts say that, like Biden in September, Xi may seek closer cooperation on rare earth minerals used in the manufacture of high-tech devices such as smartphones and electric car batteries.

Vietnamese state-controlled media reported last month that China Rare Earth Group Co. was looking for opportunities to work with Vietnam's mining giant Vinacomin.

The United States and Vietnam in September agreed to cooperate to help Hanoi quantify and develop its rare earth resources.