China, Vietnam agree to build 'shared future'

Three months after Hanoi strengthened its diplomatic relations with the United States, longtime rivals China and Vietnam announced on Tuesday that they wished to strengthen their relationship and create a community with a “shared future.” The two countries remain at odds over claims in the South China Sea.

In what can be considered a victory of Vietnam’s “Bamboo diplomacy” as both China and the United States compete for influence, Chinese President Xi Jinping inked 37 cooperation deals with Hanoi on his first visit to the country as China’s leader in six years.

According to a joint statement provided to media, Vietnam consented to “support the initiative of building of a shared future community for human kind” in response to pressure from China.

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.

Regarding the term’s interpretation, a diplomat stationed in the capital of Vietnam said, “One declaration, many translations.”

However, Le Hong Hiep, a researcher in Vietnamese strategic and political issues at Singapore’s Iseas–Yusof Ishak Institute, noted that the improvement in diplomatic ties would just be symbolic.

“Vietnam’s mistrust of China runs deep, and from the Vietnamese people’s viewpoint, there is little to no ‘shared destiny’ between the two countries, as long as China continues to claim most of the South China Sea,” he said.

Despite their existing close ties on the economic front, the neighbours have been at odds over boundaries in the South China Sea and have a millennia-long history of conflict.

In a sign of possible de-escalation, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for joint patrols in the Tonkin Gulf in the South China Sea, according to one of the agreements.

Reporters who witnessed the signed paperwork said that the improved status came with the signing of 37 cooperation arrangements, in addition to raising ties to a level Beijing may consider superior to those with the United States.

However, one Vietnamese official claimed that was less than the 45 transactions that had originally been planned.

A memorandum of agreement on cross-border rail development was one of the deals.

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.

(With agency inputs)