Xi Jinping visits Vietnam: China's importance

Tomorrow (April 14), General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Vietnam.

This is Mr. Xi Jinping’s fourth visit to Vietnam as the highest leader of the Chinese Party and State. The visit is being carried out during the “Year of Humanitarian Exchange”, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations (1950-2025).

VietNamNet reporter had an interview with Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang - Vice President of Vietnam - China Friendship Association - on the occasion of this event.

Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang was the former Director of the China - Northeast Asia Department (Central Foreign Affairs Commission), Consul - Deputy Ambassador of Vietnam to China. He is an in-depth researcher on China and Vietnam - China relations.

General Secretary To Lam introduces to General Secretary and President Xi Jinping the members of the Vietnamese delegation during his visit to China in August 2024. Photo: VNA

Mr. Quang shared that in terms of the relationship between the two countries and in recent times, the visits of the highest leaders of China to Vietnam have been of great significance. This year in particular, the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the leaders of both sides have identified 2025 as the "Year of Vietnam-China Humanitarian Exchange".

Therefore, together with the phone call between the two General Secretaries earlier this year, this visit by General Secretary and President Xi Jinping is even more meaningful and can be considered the beginning of a series of upcoming exchange events.

This is Xi Jinping's first foreign trip in 2025, "showing that China attaches great importance to Vietnam".

"We hope that through this visit, the leaders of the two countries will exchange and reach new common perceptions, taking the relationship between the two countries one step further," Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang expected.

According to Mr. Quang, the two sides will reach a number of agreements on economic, trade and investment cooperation, specifically to further facilitate the circulation of goods, helping to reduce the trade balance gap...

Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang - Vice President of Vietnam - China Friendship Association. Photo: Pham Hai

In addition, the Vice President of the Vietnam - China Friendship Association also expects that infrastructure connection between the two countries, first of all railways, will be one of the topics discussed and agreed upon.

More than a year ago, the two countries agreed to build a China-Vietnam Community of Shared Future, which has strategic significance. Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang commented that this cooperation comes from a long-term vision, not something that can be seen immediately after 1 or 2 years.

However, it can be seen that over the past year, the above agreement has had a strong impact on the awareness of the leaders and people of the two countries, creating a positive driving force to promote the development of relations.

"As a member of the friendship association, I often meet Chinese friends and see higher political trust at all levels, sectors and localities," Mr. Quang acknowledged.

Evidence of this is the impressive development of economic and trade cooperation over the past year. In 2024, trade turnover exceeded 200 billion USD according to Vietnam's statistics and 260 billion USD according to China's data.

Vietnam continues to be the largest trading partner in ASEAN and the fourth largest trading partner of China in the world. China has become the largest export market for agricultural, forestry and fishery products, bringing practical benefits to millions of Vietnamese farmers.

Foundation of Vietnam - China relations

The senior leaders of the two countries always emphasize that the foundation of Vietnam-China relations lies in the people, and close exchanges between the two peoples have become a great flow in friendship.

Emphasizing the position and role of people-to-people diplomacy, Mr. Quang expressed: "In Vietnam-China relations, people-to-people exchange plays a very special role. Both Vietnamese and Chinese peoples have exchanged for thousands of years, with a very clear cultural exchange."

Over the past 75 years, that exchange has increasingly promoted closer and closer relations between the two countries.

General Secretary To Lam, Chinese Ambassador He Wei and representatives of overseas students from both countries attended the meeting between Vietnamese and Chinese students. Photo: Pham Hai

Mr. Quang affirmed that friendly relations can only be built on the basis of mutual understanding and sympathy. To understand each other, it is necessary to increase people-to-people exchanges. In other words, in addition to the Party and State channels, it is necessary to increase people-to-people exchanges in many forms.

The Vice President of the Vietnam - China Friendship Association mentioned the visit to Vietnam in 2023 of General Secretary and President Xi Jinping. During this visit, the leaders of the two sides discussed and proposed the "6 more" orientation to promote the strong development of the relationship between the two countries. Notably, it is necessary to make the social foundation more solid, because that is the foundation of the people's hearts in the two countries.

"People-to-people diplomacy plays an important role in achieving this goal," said Mr. Quang.

In the program "Meeting Vietnamese and Chinese students of all periods" held last March, General Secretary To Lam affirmed that "the affection between the people of the two countries is inspired and maintained by the young generation".

Mr. Nguyen Vinh Quang said that he understood the General Secretary's statement that "The friendship between the people of the two countries, after all, was not formed in a day or two but is a long-term process. Therefore, when there is friendship between the people of the two countries, attention must be paid to nurturing it from the young generation."

Within the framework of the 24th Vietnam - China Youth Friendship Exchange, on the morning of April 13, a delegation of Chinese youth visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (left photo) and attended a discussion gathering young intellectuals. Photo: Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union

From the perspective of the Vietnam - China Friendship Association, he said the association is very interested in cultivating awareness for the younger generation. To do that well, Mr. Quang affirmed that we must always educate the younger generation not to forget history. The predecessors built and nurtured that friendship, the next generation has the mission to inherit and develop it.

In the near future, the Vietnam - China Friendship Association will implement red tourism activities, following in Uncle Ho's footsteps on Chinese soil. This activity aims to help people in general and the young generation in particular gain a deeper understanding of the history of relations between previous leaders and the relations between the two countries through the revolutions of the two nations.

Design: Ngoc Nguyen

Infographic content: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Statistics Office

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ong-tap-can-binh-tham-viet-nam-su-coi-trong-cua-phia-trung-quoc-2390695.html