Xi Jinping meets Vietnam’s new leader To Lam to renew ties
Chinese president vows ‘good working relations’ despite maritime tensions
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Vietnamese counterpart To Lam in Beijing on Monday, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, as the neighbors seek to renew their relationship after the death of Lam’s predecessor.
Lam, a former public security minister, was named president in May and last month took over as Vietnam’s Communist Party chief, due to the death of Nguyen Phu Trong at the age of 80. China, where he arrived on Sunday, is his first foreign destination as the top leader, reflecting 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 will carry on Trong’s legacy.
« 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.
Despite a simmering maritime dispute in the South China Sea — where both countries 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 ties.
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 connectivity and constructing a new bridge across the border.
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.
By Ck Tan & Lien Hoang – Nikkei Asia – August 19, 2024