China and Vietnam reset their diplomatic ties and signed a slew of agreements on Monday, as Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted his counterpart To Lam in Beijing.
The neighbors sealed 14 deals, aimed at strengthening trade and border connectivity, as Lam made his first foreign trip since becoming his country’s top leader.
Lam, a former public security minister, was named Vietnam’s president in May and last month took over as Communist Party chief, due to the death of Nguyen Phu Trong at the age of 80. His decision to travel first to China, where he arrived on Sunday, was seen as a reflection of Hanoi’s foreign policy of juggling ties with its largest trading partner and other major powers.
Xi told Lam that the two sides had built bilateral ties of “strategic significance” over the past decade, expressing hope that the new leader would carry on Trong’s legacy, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. “I am willing to establish good working relations and a personal friendship with you and jointly lead the creation of a China-Vietnam community of a shared future, with deeper and solid progress,” Xi told his guest.
China, Xi added, regards Vietnam as a “priority” in its neighborhood diplomacy, pledging to expand the Belt and Road Initiative by stepping up construction of railways, highways and port infrastructure.
Despite a simmering maritime dispute in the South China Sea — where both countries lay claims and engage in significant land reclamation — China’s Communist Party-affiliated news outlet Global Times hailed Lam’s visit as a demonstration of “practical actions” that can improve bilateral relations.
Lam, for his part, told Xi that working with China is a “strategic choice and top priority,” according to the CCTV readout. Vietnam is committed to deepening dialogue and cooperation in areas including national defense, investment and trade, as well as engaging with China to manage maritime disagreements for the sake of regional stability, he added.
Xi and Lam pass an honor guard during a welcome ceremony for the visiting Vietnamese leader. © Reuters
After their talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of the 14 memorandums of understanding, according to Vietnamese state media. The pacts include arranging a technical study for a railway from the Chinese border passing through Hanoi, as well as deals to facilitate exports of Vietnamese crocodiles, coconuts and durian.
Other planned bilateral cooperation involves exchanges related to universities, state media, traditional medicine and information sharing between central banks.
The deal-making adds to dozens of agreements the two sides signed last year when Xi visited Hanoi, which covered cooperation such as strengthening defense communication and spurring trade. Enhancing rail connectivity and constructing a new bridge across the border were also discussed at the time.
Although the governments do not see eye to eye in the South China Sea, they sought to play up common ground and communist roots.
Before traveling to Beijing, Lam spent Sunday in China’s Guangdong province. The Vietnamese government said the visit marked 100 years since founding father Ho Chi Minh lived there, during critical years he spent laying the revolutionary groundwork for his return to Vietnam.
“The history of fighting side by side between the revolutionaries of the two countries, Vietnam and China, is a shining example of the revolutionary struggle movement of the world proletariat,” the Vietnamese government said in a summary of Lam’s visit.
