The general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Nguyen Phu Trong, is in Beijing this week for meetings with Chinese leaders. Trong’s visit continues the trend of warming China-Vietnam ties through direct party-to-party relations rather than state mechanisms, a point Carl Thayer noted in an earlier piece for The Diplomat.
Trong is in China at the invitation of his counterpart, Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping (who, of course, is also China’s president). China and Vietnam are celebrating the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year and both the VCP and CCP are eager to move past last year’s ugly dispute over a Chinese oil rig operating off the Paracel Islands.
Xinhua interpreted Trong’s trip as a signal that both sides “cherish their strong and lasting bond,” which is based on “geographical proximity, economic complementarity, cultural affinity and ideological similarity.” Xinhua added that it is “naïve” to think that China and Vietnam’s “deep-rooted partnership would eventually crumble because of the South China Sea row.” Neither country “will allow anybody to drive a wedge between them,” the piece continued, referencing speculation that Vietnam is moving closer to the U.S.
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