China Counters US-Led Small Group... Xi Jinping Calls Vietnam a "Community of Shared Destiny"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 24th, Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone call with Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, emphasizing the relationship between the two countries as "neighboring countries and a community of shared destiny with strategic significance."

As the U.S. escalates its China containment strategy by promoting security alliances such as AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) and the Quad (United States, Japan, India, Australia), China is also strengthening cooperation with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Xinhua News Agency on the 24th, President Xi held a phone call with General Secretary Nguyen to discuss enhancing cooperation between the two countries.

President Xi stated, "Safeguarding the ruling security of the Communist Party and the security of the socialist system is the most fundamental common strategic interest of China and Vietnam."

He emphasized, "the two countries should strengthen coordination and cooperation on international and regional issues to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, oppose the politicization of COVID-19 origin tracing, and practice genuine multilateralism to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind."

In response, General Secretary Nguyen stressed that Vietnam prioritizes the development of a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China and expressed hope for enhanced exchanges between the two countries.

President Xi's mention of the South China Sea is interpreted as a call to resolve the territorial disputes, which are a source of conflict with Vietnam and have triggered U.S. freedom of navigation operations, through direct dialogue between the parties involved. His reference to genuine multilateralism is also seen as a criticism of the Quad and AUKUS.

Moreover, on the same day, President Xi also held phone calls with King Tupou VI of Tonga and Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare of the Solomon Islands, both Pacific island nations.

President Xi expressed China's desire to cooperate with Tonga in various fields within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and to provide economic and technical assistance to Tonga without political conditions.

In response, King Tupou pledged to continue firmly supporting China on issues related to its core interests and to support strengthening relations between China and Pacific island countries.

President Xi also spoke with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on the same day, discussing Belt and Road cooperation and COVID-19 prevention support.

Earlier, Wang Yi, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, toured four countries?South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and Cambodia?from the 10th to the 15th, and Liu Jinsong, Director of the Asian Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with ambassadors from the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia in Beijing from the 17th to the 23rd, criticizing the U.S. support for Australia's nuclear-powered submarine construction.