In Vietnam, a ‘shared destiny’ and the US are likely to be high on Xi Jinping’s agenda
- Chinese president will ‘seek reassurance’ and closer ties with Hanoi after it upgraded relations with Washington and Tokyo, observers say
- But Vietnam is expected to continue its hedging strategy, looking to China for more economic cooperation while inching closer to the US
Observers say Beijing is seeking closer ties with Vietnam and hopes to sell the idea of a “community of a common destiny”.
There is growing unease in Beijing after Vietnam upgraded ties with the United States and Japan to the same level as those with China. But Hanoi – a beneficiary in the Cold War-style confrontation between the US and China – is likely to continue its hedging strategy, according to observers. They expect Vietnam to look for more economic cooperation with China while inching closer to the US to counter Beijing in their maritime disputes.
“China and Vietnam have mixed attitudes towards each other,” said a researcher from the government-linked Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“While they need each other politically [to maintain stability at home], their widening differences on security-related issues, especially over the South China Sea disputes, remain the key obstacle.”
Despite that, the researcher said, “it remains difficult for the two sides to get the situation in the Indo-Pacific fully under control, as the US is determined to contain China”.
