HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Vietnam starting Thursday comes as the two communist countries seek to mend ties strained over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Bilateral relations plunged to their lowest point in years following Chinese's parking of a giant oil rig near the Paracel islands in an area Vietnam claims as within its exclusive economic zone. The incident sparked deadly anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam.

The two countries have since then been trying to repair ties with high-level contacts and exchanges of visits including the visit to China by Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in April.

But analysts say Xi's visit is unlikely to strike any progress on the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.