Meaning of ChinaVietnam ties beyond certain countries’ comprehension

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong will pay an official visit to China from October 30 to November 2 at the invitation of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president. He will be the first foreign leader to visit China since the 20th National Congress of the CPC. In the following week, China will also welcome Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

One special area of China-Vietnam relations lies in the inter-party exchanges. The special friendship of “comrades as well as brothers” is a valuable asset of the two parties and two peoples. Since the normalization of bilateral ties in the early 1990s, the two parties have maintained the practice of exchanging congratulatory messages and high-level visits after party congress. After the 19th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi made his first foreign visit to Vietnam. Trong’s visit this time continues the tradition and demonstrates the mutual trust and friendly relationship between the two parties. Vietnam’s state news agency, the Vietnam News Agency, said that Trong’s trip reflects Vietnam’s consistent position: to regard relations with China as a “top priority” in foreign policy.

Perhaps in the eyes of Washington political elites, there are many ways to drive a wedge between China and Vietnam, so they spend a lot of energy to “sway Vietnam.” But this hasn’t obstructed mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Vietnam. The fundamental reason is that they underestimated the independent tradition of Vietnam’s diplomacy and misunderstood the solid foundation of friendly cooperation between China and Vietnam. Both China and Vietnam are socialist countries governed by Communist Party. China’s reform and opening-up and Vietnam’s Ðoi Moi policy have formed a huge intersection of interests and mutual reference values.

The close exchanges between the two parties lead the development of bilateral relations. If it is simply believed that Vietnam has to depend on China economically, it would be a major misjudgment of the relationship between the two countries. In fact, the US and the West have never given up on “peaceful evolution” against China and Vietnam.

Therefore, we particularly understand and appreciate Vietnam’s “four No’s” policy – Vietnam advocates not joining a military alliance; non-alignment against another country; foreign countries are not allowed to set up military bases in Vietnam or use Vietnam’s territory to fight against other countries; it rejects the use of force or the threat with force in international relations. These reflect Vietnam’s political wisdom.

To a certain extent, the “four No’s” have laid the foundation for the development of ChinaVietnam relations toward the “four goods.” In recent years, China and Vietnam have adhered to the policy of long-term stability, forwardthinking, good-neighborliness and comprehensive cooperation, and the spirit of being good neighbors, friends, comrades and partners. The bilateral friendship has reached a new stage of comprehensive strategic partnership. The meeting between the two leaders this time will surely make China-Vietnam friendship more solid.