There is a disagreement between China and Vietnam, but cooperation outweighs differences, which is extremely important for both China and Vietnam.
Starting today, China ushered in a week of intensive home diplomacy. General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong became the first foreign leader to visit China after the closing of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
5 years ago in November, after the closing of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President Xi Jinping also selected Vietnam for his first visit.
This come and go is not only because of fate, but also because of the long-term special friendship and close interaction between the two parties and the two countries. It is also because of this that this home diplomatic event has attracted the attention of the whole world.
Comrades and brothers
China and Vietnam, which are connected by mountains and rivers, are not only close neighbors, but also have the traditional friendship of "comrades and brothers". They are a community of shared future with strategic significance.
Although China and Vietnam have differences such as the South China Sea dispute, over the years, the top leaders of China and Vietnam and the two parties have always maintained close ties.
Zhao Weihua, director of the China Peripheral Research Center of Fudan University, emphasized: "General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong have met many times." From 2020 to 2022, Xi Jinping and Nguyen Phu Trong had four phone calls. On the occasion of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, leaders of both sides exchanged congratulations through various forms. Even in the past few years after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, senior officials of China and Vietnam maintained close contact and communication through phone calls, video talks, letters, etc.
Photography of General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President Xi Jinping and General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee of Nguyen Phu Tung in 2017. Source: Xinhua News Agency
On the second day after the closing of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Nguyen Phu Tung wrote in a congratulatory message: "I look forward to meeting you again as soon as possible, and have in-depth exchanges on major strategic issues, further enhancing political mutual trust between the two sides, and pointing out the direction for the future development of bilateral relations."
Zhao Weihua said that Nguyen Phu Tung's visit was not only an important visit between the two countries, but also an important exchange between the two parties. The two leaders have many consensuses on many issues such as upholding, maintaining and building socialism. What's more, with the interweaving and superimposed changes in the century and the world has entered a period of turbulent and changing, it is very necessary for both parties to explore how to uphold and maintain the security of the socialist system and the party's ruling status.
Unity and friendship
In addition to the factor of meeting the top leaders of two socialist countries , Nguyen Phu Tung's visit has also attracted much attention because of the recent interaction between the United States and Vietnam.
In recent times, the United States has been constantly inciting the so-called "stay vigilant against China" atmosphere in Southeast Asia.
"The United States thinks it can easily win over Southeast Asian countries." But Zhao Weihua stressed that China-Vietnam relations are different from ordinary bilateral relations. As the older generation of leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh said, the friendship and close relationship between the two peoples is "eternal and unbreakable, and cannot be separated from or obstructed by anyone."
Nguyen Phu Tung's visit reflects that the local differences between the two countries cannot stop the unity and friendship between the two countries, which sends a signal to the world that Hanoi hopes to maintain a healthy China-Vietnam relations.
Cooperation is greater than differences
Ho Chi Minh once said that China and Vietnam "like lips and teeth, they must know that if the lips die, the teeth will be cold."
"There is a disagreement between China and Vietnam, but cooperation is greater than differences, which is extremely important to both China and Vietnam." Zhao Weihua said, "Vietnam is a country that cannot be underestimated and a tenacious nation." After experiencing the tempering of the "Ten Thousand Japanese War", it survived the decade of pain of political and economic turmoil brought about by the reform and opening up. By the mid-to-late 1990s, Vietnam entered a stage of rapid development. In addition to the economic downturn during the COVID-19 epidemic, Vietnam has basically maintained a stable economic growth trend.It should be said that it is not easy for Vietnam to "rebirth" to be transformed.
Vietnamese workers are busy in the workshop. Source: Vietnam News Agency
The report of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam put forward two 100-year goals: by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Party in 2030, Vietnam will enter the ranks of high-level middle-class countries; by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2045, Vietnam will become a prosperous and developed country. Since 2016, Vietnam has been China's largest trading partner in ASEAN for many years, while China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner for 18 consecutive years. From 2019 to 2020, China was the fourth largest investor in Vietnam. It will become Vietnam's third largest investor in 2021. "The peace and stability of bilateral relations are related to the realization of Vietnam's two centenary goals," said Zhao Weihua.
At the same time, this year marks the beginning of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and ASEAN. In recent years, Vietnam has been very active among ASEAN countries and seeks to play a more important role. In a sense, for China, improving political mutual trust and promoting the stability of bilateral relations is also of great significance to the stability of China's relations with ASEAN, as well as regional peace and cooperation.
What's more, there is also the "ballast stone" of close inter-party exchanges to protect the development of bilateral relations.
Just as General Secretary Xi Jinping wrote in his New Year's congratulatory letter to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Tung this year: "China and Vietnam are socialist neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, and are a community of shared future with strategic significance."
Produced by Deep Sea Area Studio
Written by Qi Xu
Edited by Deep Sea Salt
Edited by Deep Sea Salt
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