75 Years of Vietnam and China Relations: A Legacy of Partnership and Growth (1950-2025)

The year 2025 marks a milestone of 75 years of Vietnam and China relations. Over the decades, Vietnam and China have built a strong and lasting partnership based on mutual respect, cooperation, and shared achievements. Recent high-level visits have paved the way for enhancing bilateral ties, setting a strategic direction for comprehensive and sustainable development. This milestone provides an opportunity to strengthen relations further and explore new avenues for collaboration.

1. A few noteworthy developments in Vietnam and China relations in recent years

Since 1999, Vietnam and China have determined to develop bilateral relations according to the motto of “friendly neighbors, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, and looking toward the future,” and as of 2005, the motto has been “good neighbors, good friends, good comrades, and good partners.” In 2008, Vietnam and China decided to establish the Vietnam-China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership framework, which is the highest framework for collaboration between Vietnam and other nations.

Since the historic visit to China by the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2022 and the visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping in 2023, the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China have been reached to a new level. Then, in August 2024, the new General Secretary To Lam, who also acted as the State President of Vietnam accepted the invitation of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping to make his first state visit to China after assuming his new position, demonstrating the importance and top priority of both sides in consolidating and developing the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

During the China visit by General Secretary To Lam, leaders of the two parties and states outlined six major orientations, comprising stronger political trust, more substantial cooperation in defense-security, deeper and more practical cooperation, a more solid social foundation, closer multilateral coordination, and better management and settlement of differences, and those will be strengthened in 2025.

2. Overview of bilateral trade and China’s investment in Vietnam in 2024

Recent years have seen a positive increase in cooperation in trade, investment, and tourism. According to Vietnamese statistics, bilateral trade hit a new high of nearly 260.65 billion USD in 2024—a 13.5% increase—making Vietnam is China’s fourth largest trading partner.

– Vietnam’s key agricultural exports saw substantial gains, with durian exports to China exceeding USD 3.5 billion, a 50% rise compared to the previous year.

– China placed #2 among nations that bring tourists to Vietnam in 2024, with over 3.7 million arrivals, a remarkable double rise from the year before.

– There are currently over 20,000 Vietnamese students studying in China, which is almost twice as many as there were before the pandemic.

– China is also becoming a top travel destination for Vietnamese people, and Vietnam is among the five international markets sending visitors to China. On investment, China is the #3 largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with total registered capital exceeding 30.8 billion USD

In the more than three decades since the normalization of relations in 1991, bilateral trade turnover has increased more than 6,400 times, indicating the closeness and robustness of economic and trade ties between Vietnam and China. In terms of investment, China has become the #6 largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of 30.8 billion USD.

3. A number of events were held to commemorate 75 years of Vietnam and China relations:

– On the evening of January 17, the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam held a reception to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations.

– On January 18, leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State exchanged congratulatory letters/telegrams with Chinese leaders on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations.

– On January 20, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee held a ceremony to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations.

– On the evening of January 24, in Beijing (China), the Vietnamese Embassy in China and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries jointly organized a solemn ceremony to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations.

4. Chinese investment in Vietnam (FDI)

Accounting for more than 14.41% of total FDI capital in Vietnam, Chinese enterprises are increasing sharply in both the number of projects and technology content, while placing higher demands on Vietnamese partners.

In the general trend of FDI capital shifting strongly into Vietnam, Chinese businesses are accelerating and have been consistently dominating in the number of projects in recent times. According to a report by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), investment capital in Vietnam from China jumped significantly from 2.92 billion USD in 2021 to 4.73 billion USD in 2024.

a. Leading in number of investment projects 

From 2022 till now, the number of Chinese businesses visiting industrial parks to learn about investment, land, and factory leasing has grown significantly (according to representatives of several industrial parks). With 955 newly registered projects in 2024, China is consistantly leading in the number of new investment projects. At the same time, it ranked #3 in terms of newly registered capital, with over 2.84 billion USD, accounting for 14.41% of total newly registered capital.

According to the VCCI report, throughout the first nine months of 2024, over half of Chinese businesses prioritize exports (54%), with approximately 50% supplying goods to other enterprises in Vietnam and 45% supplying goods and services to Vietnamese enterprises. Additionally, compared to other FDI enterprises, Chinese businesses typically collaborate with Vietnamese partners more.

b. Elevate the bar for advanced technology

Chinese capital flows have risen in quality in addition to their dramatic increase in number and scale. Chinese businesses entering Vietnam used to mostly operate in traditional industries like garments, footwear, wood products, food processing, and home appliances, but in recent years, there has been a trend toward high-tech industries, components, and spare parts for electronics, automobiles, green energy, electric vehicles, e-commerce, and other industries.

Numerous multinational Chinese firms, including Goertek, BYD, Radian, Brotex, Quanta Computer, and Foxconn Group, have registered to invest and establish manufacturing facilities in Vietnam. After researching other competitive nations, a huge number of Chinese supporting businesses that offer items to major international electronics giants like Samsung and Apple have also established factories in Vietnam.

c. Require higher standards for quality:

Records reveal that Chinese businesses, particularly large organizations, are becoming increasingly “strict” in their selection of investment location. This partner requires improved quality in a number of aspects, including energy conversion, synchronous and modern infrastructure, multimodal transportation links, labor skill upgrades, policy frameworks, and the investment climate, etc.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, there is still plenty of rooms for Chinese foreign direct investment, particularly in high-tech, significant, and large-scale projects. Vietnam strongly encourages and hopes that Chinese enterprises will increase their investment in Vietnam while enhancing cooperation, technology transfer, improving production capacity, and integrating Vietnamese companies further into the global commodity value chain.

Some typical Chinese investment projects and investment cooperation in 2024:
– BOE Vietnam (Phase 2): The project has a total investment of about 277 million USD in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, with a capacity of up to 134.75 million products/year, mainly assembling and manufacturing equipment such as televisions, high-resolution screens for computers, electronic components, and plastic components used in production.

– Victory Giant Technology: The project has an investment capital of 260 million USD and specializes in electronic products, PCB (Printed Circuit Board).

– Kim Long Motor engine manufacturing factory: In August 2024, Futa Group, Kim Long Motor, and Yuchai Group held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the manufacturing plant within the framework of comprehensive strategic cooperation. The project has a total investment of 260 million USD and is also the first time Vietnam has been handed over the leading advanced technology of Yuchai Group.

– Geleximco-Chery Joint Venture: This joint venture was granted an investment registration certificate and business registration in October and announced that it will jointly build a factory with a total investment of 800 million USD.

Read more:
https://vietnamfinance.vn/nhung-thach-thuc-tu-lan-song-fdi-trung-quoc-d107576.html
https://sitelocationadviser.com/2024/09/11/hcm-guangxi-trade-cooperate/