Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed his Vietnamese counterpart, To Lam, in Beijing on Monday, China’s state-run media reported, signaling close ties between the communist-run neighbors.
It is Lam’s first foreign trip since the 67-year-old was elected general secretary of the Communist Party on Aug. 3, which “fully reflects the great importance he attaches to the relations between the two parties and the two countries,” China’s Xinhua news agency cited Xi as saying.
Xi also said the road would expand wider as the two countries “walk together,” underscoring good working relations and a personal friendship with Lam, Xinhua reported.
“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 Lam, according to Xinhua.
China's Global Times hailed Lam's visit as a demonstration of "practical actions" that could improve bilateral ties.
The neighbors, who fought a brief but bloody border war in 1979, normalized relations in 1991. In 2008, Vietnam elevated their relationship to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” the highest level of engagement.
China and Vietnam have clashed over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, which have earned diplomatic rebukes from Hanoi and sparked widespread public protests in Vietnam.
Vietnam has adopted a flexible approach to foreign policy, known as “bamboo diplomacy,” under which it has also established comprehensive strategic partnerships with Russia, India, South Korea, the United States, Japan and Australia.
The United States became a comprehensive strategic partner with Vietnam during a visit to Hanoi by President Joe Biden in September 2023, during which the U.S. president courted Vietnamese tech executives in a push to develop new semiconductor supply chains.
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Lam arrived in China’s southern province Guangzhou on Sunday for a three-day visit that will include meetings with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and other top officials. He visited some locations where Vietnam’s independence hero Ho Chi Minh conducted revolutionary activities while in Guangzhou.
The two sides last year signed dozens of agreements when Xi visited Hanoi, covering a wide range of cooperation to strengthen defense communications and increase trade. They also discussed enhancing rail connections and building a new bridge across their border.
Edited by RFA Staff.