China and Vietnam should oppose any “attempt
to mess up Asia-Pacific”, President Xi Jinping said during a trip to Hanoi on Wednesday.
Beijing has been seeking to counter expansion of US influence with the
communist nation.
The trip is Xi’s first to neighbouring
Vietnam in six years, and the two nations committed to deeper ties and signed
more than 30 deals, including a pledge to develop rail links between Vietnam
and China.
The two-day visit comes after Hanoi
upgraded diplomatic ties with Washington when US President Joe Biden visited in
September.
Xi said China and Vietnam “should be
vigilant against and oppose any attempt to mess up Asia-Pacific”, according to
Xinhua, China’s official State news agency.
“We should strengthen coordination and
cooperation in international affairs, and jointly maintain a sound external
environment,” Xi said.
Biden’s visit was part of US efforts
around the world to contain China’s rising economic power – and to secure
supplies of crucial materials needed for high-tech manufacturing.
China and Vietnam said in a joint
statement Tuesday they would “continue to deepen and increase bilateral
relations”.
They agreed to build a “community with a
shared future”, and said the visit was an “historic landmark in bilateral
ties… contributing to peace and stability and development in the region and
the world”.
Vietnam has long pursued a “bamboo
diplomacy” approach, striving to stay on good terms with both China and United
States.
It shares US concerns about Beijing’s
increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea, but it also has
close economic ties with China.
On Wednesday, Xi laid a wreath at the
mausoleum of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh and met with Vietnam’s Prime
Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Vo Van Thuong.
Chinh said Vietnam was committed to “supporting
China to strongly develop, promoting its role as a major country with important
contributions to the international community, supporting initiatives by comrade
Xi Jinping for peace, cooperation and development in the world”.
AFP
