General Secretary To Lam of Vietnam visited China from August 18 to 20. Before holding the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Mr. To Lam visited Laos and Cambodia not long after taking office as President. This shows that the position of neighboring countries is always of great concern to the Vietnamese leader. In particular, General Secretary To Lam’s first international visit as the Party’s top leader is a continuation of the advantages in Vietnam-China relations built by generations of leaders of the two countries over the past years. each historical period. Hanoi’s regional orientation continues to focus on relations with Beijing and considers friendship and tradition as the foundation for the positive development of the two peoples in the face of a volatile and challenging international context. awake.
On the contrary, on China’s side, after summarizing 10 years of implementing the neighborly diplomacy strategy, China has achieved expected successes. With the motto : ” Make neighbors friends, have good relations with surrounding countries, trust and friendship. Let’s help each other for the common good .” Beijing has built a network of countries to realize the concept of a community of common destiny for human progress. In planning China’s foreign policy, Vietnam has become the country’s leading trusted partner, as evidenced by regular high-level visits between the two countries. Therefore, it can be seen that the connotation of General Secretary To Lam’s visit comes from the mutual priority in foreign policy from both countries. Especially after Hanoi joined the framework of the shared future community and got off to a good start through increased trade and investment cooperation.
However, Vietnam’s current diplomatic strategy is in a different position than in the previous period. Today, foreign affairs work does not place too much emphasis on ideology and geopolitical competition, but takes national interests as the foundation. In particular, the diplomatic strategy clearly sets three goals: National development, peace and stability and international position. Prioritizing relations with China comes from the reality of the country’s socio-economic development needs.
It is easy to see that the focus in recent documents signed between the two countries is mainly on bilateral economic cooperation. Looking at the joint statement between Vietnam and China in 2023, an unprecedented number of cooperation documents have been achieved. Including 4 agreements on politics – diplomacy, 4 agreements on security – defense and up to 24 agreements related to economics – investment. That is strategic trust in the spirit of equality and mutual respect.
At the same time, it affirms to the world that Hanoi’s priority for Beijing is not an act of abandoning the policy of balance but from the trust of the two Parties, the two countries and the two peoples. After the passing of the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, many questions have arisen about the future of Vietnam’s foreign affairs in the face of increasing great power competition. General Secretary To Lam’s visit comes at the right time for Vietnam to once again affirm the foreign strategic layout of the “bamboo diplomacy” school. Quoted by the Head of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Mr. Le Hoai Trung : ” The visit affirms the importance and top priority of Vietnam-China relations in foreign policy .” There is nothing more than the desire to join with China in consolidating a favorable foreign environment and foreign position, and taking advantage of external resources for the successful implementation of the goals set by the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress. .
After more than 30 years of normalization, Vietnam – China relations have made rapid progress and become increasingly profound and comprehensive in all fields.
In the coming years, Vietnam-China relations will continue to develop in the direction of mutually beneficial cooperation stemming from the following practical motivations.
Firstly, the desire to restore production and resume supply channels after the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Zero Covid policy that China recently removed. Strengthening border opening and infrastructure connectivity is a solution to promote people-to-people exchanges and local cooperation, bringing the most practical benefits to the people of the two countries.
Second, it comes from great strides in diplomacy. Since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework in 2008 under the motto “16 words” and the spirit of “4 Goods”, the two countries’ relations have been on a stable trajectory. In particular, after the official visit to China by the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in October 2022 and the visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping in December 2023, the two sides agreed to Together build a Vietnam-China Future Sharing Community, adding the “6 more” orientation, opening a new chapter for cooperative relations.
Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, bilateral relations are at the deepest, most comprehensive and substantive level ever. In the first 7 months of 2024 , Vietnam’s import-export turnover with China reached 112.2 billion USD, China’s direct investment in Vietnam continued its rapid growing trend, reaching 1.524 billion USD. In addition to the economic surplus, Vietnam’s new focus lies in promoting investment in building the railway connecting China – Vietnam that the two sides have agreed upon.
In addition to the future development of Vietnam-China relations to new heights, the two countries need to find a common voice in resolving a number of problems regarding territorial sovereignty and East Sea issues. Strictly implement high-level common awareness and “Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues between Vietnam and China”. Handle disagreements based on international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. Respect each other’s legitimate rights and interests, handle and control the situation at sea well. In the future, maintain the stable and positive development momentum of bilateral relations and peace and stability in the region.
