Bamboo diplomacy: Vietnam boosts ties with China after upgrading relations with US

Three months after Hanoi strengthened its diplomatic relations with the United States, communist-ruled China and Vietnam, who are at odds over claims in the South China Sea, decided on Tuesday to strengthen their ties and create a community with a “shared future”. During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Hanoi in six years, 37 agreements were announced between the two nations, covering telecommunications, railroads, and diplomatic relations. The agreements represent a success of Vietnam’s “Bamboo diplomacy” as China and the US compete for influence in the strategically important country, but analysts and diplomats caution that the improved relations may be more symbolic than substantive. According to a joint statement provided to media on Tuesday, Vietnam decided to “support the initiative of building a community of shared future for human kind” after hearing from sources that China had been pressing for it. It is anticipated that the unified statement will be formally signed on Wednesday. According to officials and diplomats, the phrase “shared future” was discussed by the ambassadors of both nations for several months, after Hanoi initially refused to adopt it. Though “common destiny” is the literal translation from the Chinese, “common future”—a less demanding translation—is used in English and Vietnamese. Notwithstanding their strong economic links, the neighbours have a millennium-long history of hostility stemming from disagreements over boundaries in the South China Sea. However, they did sign two cooperation agreements, one of which called for the establishment of a hotline to address fisheries issues and the other for cooperative patrols in the Tonkin Gulf in the South China Sea, suggesting a potential de-escalation. The elevated status coincided with the announcement of 36 cooperation arrangements, according to a list of documents seen by Reuters, and the joint declaration on diplomatic ties, in addition to raising relations to a level Beijing may regard above those with the United States. According to a Vietnamese source, that fell short of the 45 originally suggested, and there were missed agreements on vital minerals and rare earths on which Xi had urged more cooperation in an opinion piece published on Tuesday in a Vietnamese state newspaper. Two memoranda of agreement on the development of cross-border rail were included in the deals; one of them mentioned developing aid. High ranking officials from both nations had advocated for the expansion of a train line that connects the ports of Haiphong in northern Vietnam and Kunming in southern China. The route passes through areas of Vietnam that are abundant in rare earth elements. China’s ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo said earlier this week Beijing was ready to offer grants to develop rail connections, though the volume and terms of possible loans are unclear. Although Beijing intends to further integrate the country’s north with its southern supply chain networks, where Chinese enterprises are transferring some operations, Vietnam may export more to China if its transportation linkages are improved, especially with regard to agricultural products. More robust rail systems would expedite the import of Chinese components for Vietnamese assembly, thereby broadening China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Because the officials of Vietnam frequently struggle with broad anti-Chinese sentiment, the Hanoi metro is currently the only project in the country to receive funding from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), although not being officially branded as such. China-sponsored infrastructure projects in Vietnam are referred to as “two corridors, one belt” initiatives, and the two nations decided to work together to develop them. A number of agreements to collaborate on telecommunications and the digital economy were inked by the two nations, and it is anticipated that Xi’s visit will accelerate plans for the so-called “Digital Silk Road.” Although officials had stated that the enhanced telecom collaboration might involve digital infrastructure like 5G networks and underwater optical fibre cables, the specifics of the agreements remain unknown. (With agency inputs)