China and Vietnam are expected to deepen cooperation across various fields and march toward modernization hand in hand, said a commentary released by the China Media Group (CMG) on Tuesday.
An edited English version of the commentary is as follows:
Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his two-day state visit to Vietnam on Tuesday with the two neighbors jointly drawing up a new blueprint for the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
By pursuing the path of peace and development and jointly marching toward modernization, China and Vietnam, with a total of more than 1.5 billion people, can effectively uphold regional and global peace and stability and promote common development.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges. This is Xi's first overseas trip this year, and also the first visit to China's neighboring countries after the central conference on work related to neighboring countries was held in Beijing last week.
The visit fully demonstrates the importance attached to China-Vietnam ties. The Vietnam News Agency said the visit "is a significant political and diplomatic event for both parties and countries, carrying strategic importance and long-term influence on the development of the bilateral relations."
In 2023, the two sides announced to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, ushering in the relations between the two parties and countries into a new stage.
More than a year has passed, and China and Vietnam are now confronted with new situations and development tasks.
On the one hand, this year marks the final year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and a crucial year for the Communist Party of Vietnam to prepare for its 14th National Party Congress and there is an inherent impetus for both sides to enhance cooperation.
On the other hand, the world is witnessing continuous geopolitical conflicts and sluggish economic recovery. Recently, the United States has imposed indiscriminate tariff hikes and engaged in unilateral bullying around the world, seriously undermining the stability of the global economic order.
China and Vietnam's joint efforts to safeguard the multilateral trading system not only defend the common interests of developing countries, but also promote economic globalization.
Deepening the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future is in line with the will of the people and comes at the right time.
The two countries need to enhance strategic mutual trust at a higher level, build a stronger security barrier, expand higher-quality mutually beneficial cooperation, tighten the bonds of people-to-people ties, conduct closer multilateral cooperation, and achieve more positive maritime cooperation.
These six measures have drawn up a new blueprint for deepening the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future and pointed out the direction for the combined population of over 1.5 billion people to jointly move towards modernization.
To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, pointed out that Xi's visit will definitely mark a new milestone in the history of friendly exchanges between the two parties and countries.
The well-known line "So profound is the friendship between Vietnam and China, because we are both comrades and brothers" bears witness to the friendship rooted in shared revolutionary heritage and a high-level of political mutual trust.
In recent years, leaders of China and Vietnam have conducted multiple rounds of mutual visits, providing guidance and direction for the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future. The "3 plus 3" strategic dialog on diplomacy, defense and public security between the two countries has been held successfully.
In the future, China and Vietnam will further consolidate the political foundation for building a community with a shared future by maintaining close high-level exchanges between the two parties and countries, enhancing exchanges on governance experience and strengthening strategic security cooperation.
Economic and trade cooperation is the driving force for promoting the development of the China-Vietnam relations.
China has remained Vietnam's largest trading partner for over 20 consecutive years, and Vietnam is China's largest trading partner in ASEAN. In recent years, China's Belt and Road Initiative has been accelerating its alignment with Vietnam's "Two Corridors and One Circle" strategy.
Special agricultural products from Vietnam such as coconut, pitaya, and jackfruit have entered millions of Chinese households, while China's exports of raw materials and mechanical equipment have strongly fueled Vietnam's development.
During the visit, Xi and To Lam witnessed the launching ceremony of the China-Vietnam railway cooperation mechanism.
China and Vietnam also signed 45 cooperation agreements, covering areas including connectivity, artificial intelligence, customs inspection and quarantine, agricultural product trade, and people's livelihood.
Reuters believes that this visit will promote closer cooperation between China and Vietnam in trade and supply chains.
Meanwhile, China and Vietnam also exchanged views on economic globalization. The Chinese side emphasized that they should jointly oppose unilateral bullying acts, safeguard the global free trade system and the stability of industrial and supply chains.
The Vietnamese side stated that it is necessary to maintain international trade rules and looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in international and regional affairs. In a complex and volatile international landscape, they should maintain strategic resolve and jointly safeguard multilateralism and the international order.
In the face of a changing and turbulent world, further enhancing cooperation between China and Vietnam in fields such as politics and economy will bring confidence and strength to the region and the world at large.
The China-Vietnam friendship's foundation lies among two peoples. In 2024, Chinese tourists made over 3.7 million visits to Vietnam. With the official launch of the Detian-Ban Gioc Waterfall Cross-Border Tourism Cooperation Zone and the opening of several cross-border road trip routes, visiting two countries in a single day has become possible.
Nowadays, among young people in Vietnam, there is a growing enthusiasm for the Chinese language and culture. Many Vietnamese songs are also on hot search lists on social media in China.
Taking the opportunity of China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, more friendly activities will be held to strengthen the cooperation in tourism, culture, media, health and other fields, Xi said during this visit.
Standing at a new historical starting point, the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future will be deepened and solidified. That will enable more than 1.5 billion people to share the fruits of modernization and bring valuable stability and certainty to a world beset by changes and turmoil.
China, Vietnam to jointly march toward modernization: commentary
