Chinese President Xi visits Vietnam in bid to counter US influence with communist nation

HANOI: China and Vietnam pledged on Tuesday to deepen ties during President Xi Jinping’s first visit in six years, as Beijing seeks to counter growing US influence with the communist nation.

Xi met the leader of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, on the first day of his trip, after Hanoi upgraded diplomatic ties with Washington when US President Joe Biden visited in September.

Biden’s visit was part of US efforts around the world to contain China’s rising economic power — and to secure supplies of crucial materials needed for high-tech manufacturing.

China and Vietnam said in a joint statement on display at Trong’s office they would “continue to deepen and increase bilateral relations.”

They agreed to build a “community with a shared future” and said the visit was a “historic landmark in bilateral ties… contributing to peace and stability and development in the region and the world.”

The two countries signed more than 30 agreements, including a pledge to develop rail links between Vietnam and China.

Vietnam has long pursued a “bamboo diplomacy” approach, striving to stay on good terms with both China and the United States. It shares US concerns about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea, but it also has close economic ties with China.

Vietnam and China, both ruled by communist parties, already share a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, Vietnam’s highest diplomatic status.

Hanoi and Washington upgraded their relationship to the same level in September.

It was thought before the visit Xi could push for Vietnam to join his “Community of Common Destiny”, a loosely defined phrase that refers to a vision of future cooperation on economic, security and political issues.

Vietnam expressed its support in the joint statement, although it did not use that specific term.

Xi said in an article published Tuesday in Vietnam’s Nhan Dan newspaper that “Asia’s future is in the hands of no one but Asians.”