Xi visits Vietnam as China seeks to counter US influence

Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first trip to Vietnam in six years Tuesday, where he and leaders in Hanoi signed 37 different deals on diplomatic relations, railways and telecommunications projects.

Initially, 45 deals were proposed but eight — tied to critical and rare materials — went unsigned.

The visit comes as China and the US vie for primacy in the region, with the US and Vietnam having recently upgraded relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" with one another when President Joe Biden visited in September.

That September visit was part of a push by Washington to contain China while seeking to secure vital high-tech manufacturing materials from Vietnam. Semiconductor projects featured prominently in the US-Vietnam agreement, with Vietnamese officials claiming US chip maker Nvidia wants to set up shop in the Southeast Asian country.

What does 'shared future' mean? It depends which side you ask

Though China and Vietnam said they sought to "continue to deepen and increase bilateral relations" and agreed to build a "community with a shared future," Xi was unable to secure the rare earths deals he sought.

The two countries signed two memoranda of understanding for cross-border rail projects. Transport between the two nominally communist countries would allow the export of agricultural and industrial materials to China, as well as the import of Chinese components for assembly in Vietnam in an expansion of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

China's so-called Digital Silk Road project may also have gotten a boost as the two nations signed as yet undisclosed telecommunications and digital economy agreements.

China and Vietnam debated the true meaning of the phrase "shared future" for months before Xi's visit, with the Chinese tending toward their translation "common destiny" and the Vietnamese preferring the more open idea of a "common future."

Vietnam's 'bamboo diplomacy' seeks to balance ties with China and US

Xi's visit on the heels of Biden's highlights Vietnam's so-called "bamboo diplomacy," in which Hanoi seeks to navigate relations with Beijing and Washington.

Although Hanoi maintains deep trade ties with China, it has sided with the US in its assessment of Beijing's behavior in the region, especially in the South China Sea — which Beijing sees as almost exclusively belonging to China, and which other countries such as Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan reject.

Biden warned China against making threats or using force against neighbors in the region during his September visit.

Before departing on Wednesday, Xi will meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Vo Van Thuong, and will also place a wreath at the tomb of Vietnam's revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh.

js/ab (AFP, Reuters)