Death of Nguyen Phu Trong ‘won’t affect China-Vietnam traditional ties’
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, on Saturday went to the Embassy of Vietnam in China to mourn the passing of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Friday sent condolences to the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and deeply mourned the death of Trong. Analysts said that the condolence messages showed the deep traditional relations between the two parties and the CPC-CPV ties will continue to guide the development of China-Vietnam relations.
Chinese experts on Saturday said that they have confidence in China-Vietnam relations and they believe that new leaders of the CPV will treasure and safeguard the legacy of Trong in the field of diplomacy that has maintained the balance between major powers and helped bring constant economic growth and development to the country.
Praising Trong as a staunch Marxist and a great leader of the CPV and the Vietnamese people, Xi said that Trong had devoted himself entirely to the CPV and the country, to the Vietnamese people and to the cause of socialism in Vietnam, and had been deeply respected and admired by the party, military and people of Vietnam.
Xi recalled that over the past decade, he and Trong had maintained close contact and developed a deep camaraderie, and that last year they jointly announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, a milestone in bilateral ties.
“The passing of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has deprived us of a promoter of China-Vietnam relations and a companion for the cause of socialism, and we are deeply saddened,” said Xi.
Xi stressed that the CPC and the Chinese government firmly support the CPV in uniting and leading the Vietnamese people to develop socialism that suits Vietnam’s national conditions.
It is believed that under the strong leadership of the CPV Central Committee, the Vietnamese people will surely be able to turn grief into strength and continue to make greater achievements in the cause of reform, opening up and socialist construction, Xi said.
According to the Xinhua News Agency on Friday, the condolence message by the CPC Central Committee said “General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong passed away. The CPC and the Chinese people lost a good comrade, a good brother and a good friend. With immense grief, we extend our deepest condolences and sincerest sympathies to the Central Committee of the CPV, the Vietnamese government and the Vietnamese people.”
Trong was a close comrade and a sincere friend of the CPC and the Chinese people. He inherited and developed the traditional friendship of “comrades plus brothers” between the two parties and two countries, and forged a profound friendship with the CPC and Chinese leaders.
Trong and General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping have jointly elevated China-Vietnam relations to a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance and vigorously promoted the continuous development of China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. The CPC, the Chinese government and the Chinese people will always miss Trong.
China and Vietnam are linked by mountains and rivers, have similar cultures and political systems, and are both building their countries through the path of socialism. China and Vietnam have very close economic and trade ties. Despite of Trong’s death, the general trend of China-Vietnam friendship will remain unchanged, experts said.
Zhao Weihua, director of the Center for China’s Relations with Neighboring Countries at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Saturday that Vietnam’s diplomacy is about “to be friends with all countries,”and Vietnam is still implementing this policy and maintaining friendly relations with all major countries, including China.
“China has been Vietnam’s largest trading partner for more than 20 years, while Vietnam is also China’s largest trading partner within ASEAN and the sixth largest trading partner in the world. Such close economic and trade exchanges are win-win cooperation for both countries,” Zhao noted.
All these characteristics have determined that the general trend of China-Vietnam friendship will not change, Zhao said.
In fact, many Vietnamese politicians and scholars often discuss the topic about balanced diplomacy. Especially after the outbreak of Russia-Ukraine conflict, as Vietnam has continually recalled and reflected on its own history, and reached a social consensus that it would never repeat the mistake of “lean to one side” diplomacy, which caused geopolitical crisis in the region and tragedy to the country and its neighbor. Developing good relations with all major powers at the same time serves the interests of Vietnam, Zhao said.
The condolence message by the CPC Central Committee said “We believe that the CPV and the Vietnamese people will turn grief into strength, carry on the legacy of Trong, unite and strive to make new and greater achievements in the cause of Doi Moi and socialist construction.”
“China has always regarded Vietnam as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and stands ready to work with Vietnam to continuously consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and push forward the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future to benefit the two peoples and contribute to regional and world peace and development,” the message said.
Although China and Vietnam still have some problems when it comes to maritime issue in the South China Sea, this won’t be able to fundamentally challenge the whole bilateral relations, because the two countries have effective channel to communicate and manage the problems, and there is no reason for the new leaders in Hanoi to abandon the huge common interests that benefit the two peoples greatly and to take the huge risk to team with external forces to destabilize the region, experts said. We should be confident to the wisdom of the leaders of the two Parties and the two peoples, they noted.
During his meeting with Xi on June 26 during the visit to China just about a month ahead of the death of Trong, Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh said that it is the top priority and strategic choice of Vietnam’s foreign policy, which will not be disrupted by external interference, to deepen strategic mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation with China, and build a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
