[ad_1]
The two sides are expected to discuss a range of issues including management of Mekong tributaries and cross-border trade, said Zhang Jiayi, an international relations expert at the National University of Singapore.
He added: “This visit shows that Vietnam continues to value its relationship with China and hopes that the relationship can develop smoothly even if differences remain.”
Carlyle Thayer, emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales Canberra, noted that Lam made her first visit to China when she was general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, just like her predecessor Nguyen Phu Trong.
“(Like Nguyen Phu Trong), To Lin’s speech shows that Vietnam recognizes China’s pre-eminence as a socialist country and that intra-party relations are the most important channel for bilateral relations,” Professor Thayer added.
He believes Lam may also seek assurances from China that it will continue to abide by proposals made between former Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Chinese President Xi Jinping, including amending financial regulations to facilitate currency convertibility between the yuan and the Vietnamese dong.
In addition to her visit to China, Carrie Lam will also attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September this year. Abuza, a professor at the National War College of the United States, said that Carrie Lam may meet with US President Biden during her visit to China.
The back-to-back visits to the two superpowers highlight Vietnam’s flexible foreign policy, the so-called “bamboo diplomacy,” in dealing with complex geopolitical challenges.
“Vietnam’s bamboo diplomacy is a metaphor, not a strategy… The goal of Vietnam’s foreign policy is to maintain independence and self-reliance through the diversification and multilateralization of foreign relations. Bamboo diplomacy – that is, the approach – is firm in principles such as defending national sovereignty – but flexible in practice,” said Professor Thayer.
What China wants
On the other hand, Beijing is not only willing but also highly motivated to promote key projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, such as the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong railway.
Experts said the new train line is expected to connect with China’s newly built railway network extending to the Vietnamese border, facilitating the import of Chinese industrial products and materials.
According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Vietnam’s exports to China reached US$27.8 billion in the first half of this year, up 5.3% from the same period last year. At the same time, Vietnam imported goods from China worth US$67 billion, up 34.7%, resulting in a trade deficit of US$39.2 billion, up 67.9%.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade subsequently reported that bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded $100 billion during the period, cementing China’s position as Vietnam’s largest trading partner.
Professor Kingsbury of Deakin University said: “Carrie Lam will seek to build a more positive relationship by increasing trade and investment between China and Vietnam… The two sides may also discuss the establishment of a free trade zone in the border area, or to some extent reduce trade and investment barriers in the border area between the two countries.”
Territorial disputes
Lam’s first state visit to China follows weeks of political wrestling between Hanoi and Beijing over the South China Sea sovereignty dispute.
Earlier this month, the Philippine and Vietnamese coast guards held their first joint exercise amid ongoing territorial disputes between the two sides and, more importantly, with China, which claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea.
But analysts believe the ongoing territorial dispute is unlikely to hinder China and Vietnam from strengthening bilateral ties this time.
“It is completely normal for the Vietnamese Coast Guard to conduct joint patrols with the coast guards of other ASEAN countries. The Vietnamese Coast Guard has also conducted joint patrols with the Chinese Coast Guard many times, so these joint patrols should be understood as activities to promote cooperative relations between Vietnam and many friendly countries,” said Dr.
[ad_2]
Source link
