Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) walks next to Vietnam President To Lam as they pass by the honour guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on August 19.//AFP
The recent visit by Vietnam’s new President To Lam to China was extremely significant, demonstrating their longstanding friendship and trust. His visit further strengthens Vietnam’s ties with the country.
During his three-day trip, he was welcomed with a 21-gun salute, signalling the importance of the state visit. China knows and understands that its friendship and cooperation with Vietnam are pivotal to reinforcing mutual benefits.
Vietnam and China signed 14 cooperation agreements covering multidimensional areas such as trade, banking, healthcare, connectivity and infrastructure.
Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) walks next to Vietnam President To Lam as they pass by the honour guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on August 19.
It is interesting to note that both countries will be more connected to each other in ways that will enhance their economic cooperation and people-to-people relations.
This includes the development of standard gauge railway lines such as Lang Son-Hanoi and Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong, the pilot construction of smart border gates, and cross-border economic cooperation,
These agreements serve as an affidavit that both countries have also boosted their political trust and diversified their cooperation. After all, both are leading communist countries in Asia, which have already set examples of rapid economic development.
They share not only their ideologies but also their prosperity and future.
Vietnam has also developed close ties with the United States, which is currently at loggerheads with China. Hanoi’s efforts are part of the bamboo foreign policy of building balanced relations with major powers.
Both Beijing and Washington are part of Hanoi’s comprehensive strategic partnership.
Like many countries in the region, Vietnam must navigate its diplomacy in the increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. So far, it has done well, bringing economic and security benefits to Vietnam’s rapid modernization.
Photo: Vietnam President To Lam//AFP
Even though Vietnam has yet to be classified as a capitalist economy, it has one of the region’s largest number of free trade agreements, totalling 17 including the high-end Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU.
Stronger and more stable Vietnam-China relations would also benefit Asean centrality and stability.
They are key players in the Asean region. Currently, China and Asean are negotiating the single draft of the code of conduct in the South China Sea.
Vietnam is one of the claimant states from Asean, which also includes the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Both countries have efficiently managed their relations amid the conflicting claims in the South China Sea, avoiding confrontation and clashes. It has made the region more peaceful.
Furthermore, improved ties between Vietnam and China are crucial to Asean's stability and prosperity. These two countries are also part of regional supply chains which will become more resilience with better relations.
Their agreements on connectivity and infrastructure are aligned with the bloc’s economic integration plans, contributing to the region’s growth. To Lam’s visit has also broadened Asean’s multilateral cooperation with China on issues such as the environment and health security.
