Leaders of China and Vietnam pledge to strengthen political and economic ties

BEIJING: The leaders of China and Vietnam pledged to further their economic ties and gave a nod to their shared communist ideology during the first visit by Vietnam's new president to Beijing on Monday.

To Lam, who took office in May, made China the destination of his first state visit, signalling the continuing importance the Southeast Asian nation places on its giant neighbour despite ongoing territorial frictions in the South China Sea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Li Yuan, hosted a ceremony for Lam and his wife, Ngo Phuong Ly, at Beijing's vast Great Hall of the People, replete with flags, flowers and a marching band.

Xi remarked on the “deep friendship” between Vietnam and China and said Vietnam was a priority for Beijing's “neighbourhood diplomacy.”

“As two ruling Communist parties in the world today, the two parties of China and Vietnam should … continue their traditional friendship … and jointly promote the development of the world's socialist cause,” Xi said. “I believe that our road will expand wider as we walk further.”

Lam's three-day visit to China comes about two weeks after he was confirmed as general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, the country's top political position. He succeeded Nguyen Phu Trong, who died last month after 13 years as leader.

Lam told Xi the relationship with China was the top priority of Vietnam's foreign policy.

"As a brother, we always observe every step of China's development, and we are happy for the achievement that the party and the government and the people of China have made under your leadership,” Lam said in his opening remarks before meeting with Xi.

The two leaders oversaw the signing of 14 cooperation agreements in areas such as political education, infrastructure, health care and banking. China is Vietnam's largest trading partner, with total bilateral trade of $172 billion last year.

Lam said Vietnam supported China's claim over self-ruled Taiwan, known as the “One China” principle, and that any issues pertaining to Hong Kong and the regions of Tibet and Xinjiang constitute China's internal affairs.

Lam is expected to continue his predecessor's strategy of balancing ties with China, the United States, Russia and others.

The US and its ally Japan have been developing closer ties with Vietnam's communist government — America's former foe in the Vietnam War — as they seek partners in a growing economic and strategic rivalry with China.

When Xi visited Vietnam in December, the two countries announced they would build “a shared future that carries strategic significance.” The agreement, which Chinese state media has described as an elevation of ties, was seen as a concession by Vietnam, which had resisted using that wording in the past.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Lam in Vietnam in June after visiting North Korea on a rare overseas trip for the Russian leader, who has been ostracized by many countries because of the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Lam began his China trip on Sunday in Guangzhou, a major manufacturing and export hub near Hong Kong. He also visited sites in the southern city where Vietnam's former communist leader Ho Chi Minh spent time in the 1920s and '30s.

Although both are one-party communist states, Vietnam and China have sparred repeatedly over territory that both claim in the South China Sea. China also briefly invaded parts of northern Vietnam in 1979.

A Vietnamese coast guard ship recently took part in joint drills in the Philippines, which has had a series of violent encounters with China over contested territory in the South China Sea.

Still, Vietnam has benefited economically from investment by Chinese manufacturers, which have moved production to the Southeast Asian country in part to skirt U.S. restrictions on solar panels and other exports from China.