International press comments on Mr. Tap's visit to Vietnam

International press said that Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Vietnam aims to strengthen and improve bilateral relations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Vietnam from November 5 to 6.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hong Xiaoyong as saying that Xi Jinping's visit will promote the future development of Vietnam-China relations.

"President Xi and Vietnamese leaders are expected to outline directions for the development of Vietnam-China relations in the new era, from a strategic and long-term vision," said Mr. Hong.

China's state-run broadcaster China Radio International (CRI) wrote on its website that the visit comes as China and Vietnam make efforts to ease tensions in their long-running dispute in the South China Sea.

Discussions between the two sides could include ways to ease bilateral tensions and other regional issues, CRI wrote.

In another article, Xinhua quoted Mr. Li Jun, a senior official in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), emphasizing that this is "Mr. Xi's first visit to Vietnam as general secretary of the CPC and president of China."

"Despite the short duration, the visit is expected to achieve many results," Mr. Lee said.

The Diplomat outlined the context of Xi Jinping’s visit, as China has been stepping up its territorial claims in the South China Sea in recent years. In May 2014, China deployed the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig into Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), facing strong opposition from the Vietnamese government and people. After withdrawing the rig, China accelerated its reclamation and reclamation activities on reefs in the Spratly Islands, building several airstrips on those features.

With all this in mind, The Diplomat believes that Mr. Xi will come to Hanoi with the mission of restarting relations with Vietnam.

Reuters noted that President Xi Jinping's visit comes at a time of tension after the US sent a warship within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island illegally built by China in the East Sea.

On October 29, Vietnam issued a statement on the US sending patrol ships close to artificial islands in Truong Sa, reaffirming its sovereignty over the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos, and calling on relevant parties to actively contribute to maintaining peace, stability, security and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea on the basis of international law.

China Central Television (CCTV) quoted Mr. Truong Duc Duy, former Chinese ambassador to Vietnam, as saying that Mr. Tap's upcoming visit is expected to revive relations between China and Vietnam, Singapore and ASEAN.

"Xi's upcoming visits to Vietnam and Singapore will promote the healthy and sustainable development of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership, so as to contribute more to regional peace and prosperity," CCTV quoted the comment.

Former Ambassador Truong assessed that in recent times, Vietnam and China have had many disagreements on the East Sea issue, but the two countries always seek to find similarities from differences, and Mr. Tap's visit will strengthen the "comrade and brother" relationship between the two countries.

According to Mr. Truong, Mr. Tap's visit to Vietnam and Singapore this time will contribute to harmonizing the "One Belt, One Road" initiative initiated by China two years ago and Vietnam's "Two Corridors, One Economic Belt" plan, aiming to promote bilateral cooperation in production, building cross-border economic cooperation zones, trade, infrastructure and investment.

Eurasia Review quoted Dr. Subhash Kapila of the South Asia Analysis Group as saying that Mr. Xi's visit to Vietnam this time is an opportunity for Beijing to "reboot" its relationship with Vietnam. According to Dr. Kapila, the relationship between the two countries can only be truly "rebooted" if China stops actions that could increase tensions in the East Sea.

According to VnExpress