Beijing, August 18 (EFE) – Vietnamese President To Lam arrived Sunday in the southern Chinese city of Canton for an official visit to the Asian country that will last until Tuesday.
Lam arrived in China on his first official visit abroad since being elected general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, the country’s most powerful post, in early August.
The Vietnamese leader had already held the post on an interim basis since July 18, following the death of his predecessor Nguyen Phu Trong, and was unanimously elected by members of the party’s Central Committee in Hanoi.
In early August, Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom Lam is expected to meet during the trip, congratulated his Vietnamese counterpart on his appointment as general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, expressing his willingness to work together to develop a “community with a shared future.”
This year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son, warning of confrontations between blocs in the region, in an apparent effort to maintain stability in the region.
The visit demonstrates the skill with which Vietnam conducts its “bamboo diplomacy,” which is characterized by flexibility and a refusal to side with a particular bloc.
Vietnam’s diplomatic neutrality, aimed at maximizing its own interests, has reached new heights, after it welcomed in less than a year Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden, and the Chinese leader, who visited the country in September and December, respectively.
Vietnam maintains strategic partnerships with all three countries: it receives weapons from Russia, considers China its main trading partner and turns to the United States to strengthen its position in territorial disputes with the Asian giant, while Washington, Moscow and Beijing seek to balance their influence in the region through Hanoi.
China and Vietnam share a border of about 1,300 kilometers and enjoy strong economic ties, with bilateral trade set to reach $175.6 billion in 2022.
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