Chinese President Xi visits Vietnam to strengthen ties, boost influence in region amid geopolitical rivalry

HANOI: China will be looking to strengthen relations with Vietnam, when Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a two-day state visit to the Southeast Asian country on Tuesday (Dec 12). 

This comes as China and the United States compete for influence in the region.

Mr Xi will be holding talks with top leaders, including Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, on his first visit to Vietnam in six years.

Both countries are set to issue a joint statement before Mr Xi's departure on Wednesday.

MILESTONE IN BILATERAL TIES

Mr Xi, who will arrive in Hanoi on Tuesday afternoon, will be greeted with a 21-gun salute, an honour that was notably absent when US President Joe Biden was in town three months ago. 

During Mr Biden's visit, Vietnam and the US elevated relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the same tier as Hanoi's ties with Beijing, which is expected to bring various economic benefits to Vietnam, including technology transfer and trade expansion. 

ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute visiting fellow Nguyen Khac Giang said: “This visit has a very significant impact on geopolitical competition between the US and China, because most (countries) want Vietnam to be on their side in the great power competition.”

Vietnam has said that Mr Xi's visit will be a new historic milestone in bilateral ties between the two countries.

It will involve discussions on bringing the relationship to a “higher position”, according to Beijing, while remaining unclear as to what form this would take. 

Mr Xi is expected to push for the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, which involves bringing Hanoi closer to Beijing's orbit.

“The last visit by Xi Jinping was (in) 2017, and he actually suggested that. But Vietnam disagreed,” said Emeritus Professor Carlyle Thayer of the University of New South Wales Canberra.

“But China is pushing for common destiny, common security, (and) common development. This is the platform and programme of China's new world order, in which the US would just be relegated to being one of the players.”

TRADE, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC TIES ON THE AGENDA

The talks in Hanoi will also touch on trade, infrastructure and economic ties.

Hanoi hopes to attract more Chinese investment and tourists, and increase its agricultural exports across the border.

While the territorial dispute in the South China Sea will also be high on the agenda, some observers do not expect much progress on this front.

Dr Nguyen Khac Giang said: “It's very hard to expect any breakthrough in terms of maritime dispute resolution within Vietnam and China, because both countries consider those areas as something very sacred, (and) as something of national pride.”

Anti-China sentiment runs deep in Vietnam due to a long and turbulent history of war and domination, but local residents still have high expectations for Mr Xi's state visit. 

Some residents said the visit is a sign that bilateral ties remain strong. 

Hanoi resident Nguyen Tien Dat said: “I think economic cooperation is the most important point in bilateral ties, because Vietnam is a developing economy and China has a strong economy.”

Another resident Nguyen Van Anh said: “I hope this visit will boost Vietnam-China political and economic ties, and that will support growth for Vietnam’s economy.”