What the Mainland Media Say | China's ties with Vietnam viewed through rose-tinted glasses
Press stresses the partnership between Beijing and Hanoi, but the evidence suggests Vietnam is still wary of its giant neighbour
China and Vietnam have long had a "love-hate" relationship.
Historians have described it as like a family affair, with the closeness gained from shared values, culture and religion - but also bitterness from constant rivalries, including periods of Chinese rule and influence over Vietnam that stretched over more than a thousand years.
The latest period of love was built on the personal ties between the communist founding leaders: Chairman Mao Zedong characterised the relationship "as close as the lips and the teeth"; his Vietnamese counterpart, Ho Chi Minh, defined it as "comrades plus brothers".
The special bond was evident when China provided critical material aid to help their Vietnamese comrades' fight, first against the French in the first Indochina war from the late 1940s until 1954 - and the Americans in the second conflict, better known as the Vietnam war.
However, by February 1979 all signs of brotherly love had disappeared when a bloody Sino-Vietnamese border war broke out between the two neighbours.
China sent 200,000 soldiers into Vietnam to "teach their comrades a lesson" after about 250,000 ethnic Chinese had fled persecution there, with Hanoi allied with Russia, its Soviet socialist big brother. This war led to the loss of ten of thousands of lives on both sides.
Tensions between them have risen further in recent years, with street riots in Vietnam against Chinese businesses and citizens, as China has increasingly asserted itself in disputed territories in the South China Sea. That is why China's state-run media adopted a cautious tone when welcoming Vietnam Communist Party Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong on his historic visit to China earlier this month.