Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Vietnam Tuesday on a mission to improve ties between the Asian Communist neighbors and counter Hanoi’s increasing outreach to Western nations.
Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were greeted at the Hanoi airport by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the start of Xi’s two-day trip, his first to Vietnam since 2017. He will hold meetings with Chinh, President Vo Van Thuong and other Vietnamese officials, and will sign economic cooperation agreements, including one to upgrade existing railway links.
Xi’s visit comes three months after Hanoi granted its highest diplomatic status, “comprehensive strategic partnership,” to the United States during President Joe Biden’s official visit. The same designation was also recently given to Japan, elevating both countries to the same status it uses for China.
Later in the day, Xi announced in a meeting with Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong that the two countries would henceforth work toward a "China-Vietnam community with a shared future of strategic significance."
"Community with a shared future" is phrasing that was put forward by Xi for a decade but was previously rejected by Hanoi. Vietnam agreed to the wording in a joint statement Tuesday, a move that some experts say is a symbolic reassurance to China that the country is still Vietnam’s most important partner.
China and Vietnam have been close ideological and economic allies for years, but relations have been strained by Beijing’s increasingly aggressive moves in the South China Sea, as it claims sovereignty over numerous islands in the region despite competing claims from its neighbors.
Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press.
