Vietnam’s partnership with China is ‘window dressing’ as it aims for flexibility in international relations

Vietnam wants to diversify its foreign policy options as it already has signed partnerships with five other countries, analysts say

As part of its flexible approach, Vietnam might also elevate its partnerships with some Asean members in future

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, bid farewell on December 13 to Vietnam’s paramount leader Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife, Ngo Thi Man, after paying a state visit. Photo: Xinhua/Shen Hong

Published: 6:00pm, 26 Dec 2023Updated: 6:09pm, 26 Dec 2023

Following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vietnam in mid-December, Beijing and Hanoi said they agreed to deepen their partnership, which is already considered among the closest bilateral relationships in the region.

However, analysts said the joint statement by the two countries on a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership does not indicate a significant shift in their alliance. Rather, it is an attempt by Vietnam to diversify its foreign policy options, given that it already has signed comprehensive strategic partnerships with five other countries namely Japan, South Korea, the US, India and Russia, they added.

“The joint statement is not a commitment to a new alignment with China so much as window dressing on initiatives that have been under way for several years,” said Carl Thayer, emeritus professor of politics at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

According to Thayer, Vietnam’s alliance with its powerful neighbour and the statement’s commitment to building a “community with a shared future that carries strategic significance” could be seen as “making a virtue out of necessity”.

“Vietnam must maintain manageable good relations with China because of their geographical proximity and economic interdependence,” he said.

The joint statement says the two countries agreed to increase cooperation in several areas, including security, economic issues, the construction of cross-border rail connectivity and joint patrols between their defence ministries in the Gulf of Tonkin.