Party-to-party ties bring Beijing, Hanoi closer
Global Times Published: 2015-4-9 0:48:23
Vietnam's Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong is leading a high-level delegation to China that consists of one-third of its Central Committee Political Bureau members. This shows the great significance Vietnam attaches to the visit.
In the official press release from the two sides, following the meeting on Tuesday between
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Trong, both leaders described the party-to-party relationships as well as the bilateral ties of the two countries with warm and passionate words. Xi underscored the extensive shared interests between the two neighbors, noting that friendly cooperation has remained the norm. Trong continued the traditional description of our friendship by using the phrase "brother and comrade." Such voices have brought warmth to the two countries. The warmth is precious, despite its complicated background. It reminds us that apart from the geopolitical and economic mutual benefit, the relation between the two parties serves as a special bond amongst all of our bilateral ties. Despite maritime disputes, the two sides have a deeper understanding of each other, which allows for more opportunities to limit differences when viewpoints diverge.
A comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership is best for both countries. For China, it is crucial to sustain a peaceful environment for development in the region, in order to better promote its "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Vietnam is a key link to this.
Hanoi may place more importance on specific interests, yet it can not ignore that the Sino-Vietnam relationship plays an irreplaceable role in its international environment.
The US is trying to increase its involvement in the South China Sea through its pivot to Asia-Pacific strategy, and hopes Vietnam can be a lever in this tactic. However, this pivot can only bring limited benefits to Vietnam, and could lead to problems down the road. The White House supports political disturbances in Vietnam, in sharp contrast to the mutual support between the ruling parties of China and Vietnam.
The path of both countries' economic reforms is similar. They share the urgent task of economic and social development in a peaceful environment, hoping for no unexpected episodes blocking the road toward modernization. Thus, the South China Sea should become neither the starting point nor the terminal point of our relationship. It should be noticed that the "One Belt, One Road" policy as well as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will give more opportunities to strengthen our collaboration, which would help get public opinion in both countries back on a healthy track, and away from focusing on maritime conflicts. These new opportunities will reveal the importance of a good relationship to the national development strategy of both sides.
.
