Since the beginning of the new era, China’s policy of fostering amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness in neighborhood diplomacy has significantly advanced its relations with neighboring countries. China has reached a consensus with a number of neighboring countries, including Vietnam, on building a community with a shared future at the bilateral level. China and Vietnam, linked by mountains and rivers and bound by a long-standing traditional friendship, have in recent years made notable progress in people-to-people exchanges, economic and trade cooperation, and bilateral relations.
Assigned by my newspaper, I once traveled to Vietnam for reporting. During those few days in the country, I came away with a strong impression that China-Vietnam relations are a vivid example of China and its neighboring countries moving toward each other in a mutually reinforcing way.
Diverse and Vibrant People-to-People Exchanges
In Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, both traditional and modern Chinese elements are becoming increasingly visible. On my first day in Hanoi, I headed straight to the Temple of Literature, one of Vietnam’s national historical and cultural landmarks. With a history of 955 years, the site carries deep cultural significance. As I entered the main hall, I was immediately struck by a plaque inscribed with the words “Teacher for All Ages,” written by Emperor Kangxi, and by a statue of Confucius enshrined there. For a moment, it felt as though I had stepped into one of the Confucius temples in Beijing or Qufu.
A Vietnamese guide told me that the Temple of Literature is not only a witness to the spread of Confucian thought in Vietnam, but also a symbol of the country’s tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education. Every year before major examinations, many students visit the temple to pray for success. Today, it also stands as testimony to the long history of cultural exchange between China and Vietnam.
As close neighbors connected by geography and culture, China and Vietnam have in recent years expanded their people-to-people exchanges in rich and diverse ways, injecting strong momentum into bilateral friendship. In 2024, more than 3.7 million Chinese tourists visited Vietnam. Meanwhile, enthusiasm for learning Chinese continues to rise across Vietnam. More than 50 universities nationwide now offer Chinese language departments or programs. According to the Confucius Institute at Hanoi University, the number of Vietnamese students registering for the Chinese Proficiency Test reached a new high this year, with 9,898 registrations in the first quarter alone.
At the Temple of Literature, I met a Vietnamese student named Nguyen Ngoc, who was studying Chinese. She told me that her favorite drink was bubble tea from Mixue, her favorite song was San Bai Hong Chen Liang, and her favorite television drama was Love Between Fairy and Devil. Her dream, she said, is to study in China.
The two countries will also continue to steadily implement the 2023–2027 executive plan for cultural and tourism cooperation signed by their respective authorities, encouraging exchanges and collaboration between cultural institutions and performing arts organizations. Vietnam supports activities organized by the China Cultural Center in Hanoi, while China welcomes Vietnam’s early establishment of a cultural center in Beijing.
Fruitful Economic and Trade Cooperation
In recent years, not only have people-to-people exchanges between China and Vietnam continued to gain momentum, but economic and trade ties have also grown increasingly close, yielding substantial results. According to available data, China has been Vietnam’s largest trading partner since 2004, while Vietnam has been China’s largest trading partner within ASEAN since 2016. Bilateral trade has exceeded $200 billion for four consecutive years, reaching $260.65 billion in 2024, up 13.5 percent year on year.
In an interview with me, Dao Viet Anh, Director General of the Department of International Relations under the Trade Promotion Agency of Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that Vietnamese exports have vast opportunities and potential in the Chinese market, and that the two countries’ commodity structures are highly complementary, making their economic ties ever closer.
In the Joint Statement of the People’s Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on Continuously Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and Accelerating the Building of a China-Vietnam Community with a Shared Future That Carries Strategic Significance, the two sides agreed to accelerate the alignment of their development strategies, effectively implement cooperation plans for aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with Vietnam’s “Two Corridors and One Economic Circle” framework, and prioritize faster progress in connectivity involving railways, highways, and border port infrastructure.
In addition, the two sides agreed to make full use of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to promote more balanced bilateral trade.
In a recent article, the Vietnam News Agency noted that amid the rise of protectionism and mounting unilateral challenges, Vietnam and China will step up economic and trade cooperation, promote industrial upgrading and digital transformation, and seek new growth opportunities in key sectors, including advanced manufacturing, green energy, smart logistics, e-commerce, and regional supply chain integration.
Bilateral Relations Reaching New Heights
During my trip to Vietnam, Hanoi Metro Line 2 left a particularly deep impression on me. With its green-painted trains running between high-rises and residential neighborhoods, the line offers passengers a sweeping view of the city.
As Vietnam’s first urban light rail project, Hanoi Metro Line 2 uses Chinese equipment, technology, and standards and was built by a Chinese company. It is a landmark project linking the Belt and Road Initiative with Vietnam’s “Two Corridors and One Economic Circle” strategy. Since it began operation in November 2021, it has helped ease traffic congestion in Hanoi. Today, it has become not only a popular attraction for visitors but also a vivid symbol of deepening China-Vietnam relations. A passenger surnamed Nguyen told me that the light rail has greatly improved local people’s daily travel and quality of life. She now uses it for her daily commute and saves more than an hour on her round trip each day.
Another example is the Hai Duong thermal power plant project in Vietnam, also built by a Chinese company. Over the five years since it went into operation, the project has provided stable support to the power grid in northern Vietnam and generated more than 20 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in total, helping Chinese enterprises build a strong reputation in the Vietnamese market.
These projects are not only tangible outcomes of bilateral cooperation but also examples of the leap-forward development in China-Vietnam relations in the new era, the joint effort to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, and the entry of bilateral ties into a new stage.
Looking back on the history of China-Vietnam relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the traditional friendship summed up in the phrase “The friendship between Vietnam and China is so profound because we are both comrades and brothers” has endured through changing international circumstances. In the new era, bilateral relations have achieved leap-forward development. Since the two countries announced in December 2023 the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, the relationship has entered a new stage marked by stronger political mutual trust, more substantive security cooperation, deeper practical collaboration, a firmer public foundation, closer multilateral coordination, and better management and resolution of differences.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China and Vietnam have continuously deepened their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, accelerated the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, promoted mutually beneficial cooperation toward higher-quality development, and advanced strategic coordination to a deeper level, bringing greater benefits to the two peoples.
In recent years, China and Vietnam have supported each other’s development and achieved common progress. Recent reports by the Vietnam News Agency and other Vietnamese media outlets noted that China has consistently regarded Vietnam as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. Going forward, the two sides will continue to comprehensively deepen the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future and make positive contributions to peace, stability, development, and prosperity in Asia and the wider world.
