CGTN examines the resilience of China-Vietnam “comrades-plus-brothers” ties, highlighting how high-level exchanges sustain strategic trust. It also outlines growing cooperation in trade, infrastructure and youth exchanges, as both sides advance the building of a higher-level China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance amid global uncertainties.
“We bathe in the same river. I look over there, you look over here. Every day, we hear the rooster crow together.”
The lyrics of the 1966 Vietnamese song Vietnam-China echoed through the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday, as Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, welcomed Vietnamese top leader To Lam in Beijing.
Evoking images of shared rivers, adjacent fields and intertwined lives, the song captures more than geographical proximity – it reflects the two neighbors’ long-standing bond as “comrades plus brothers.”
Today, as China and Vietnam navigate a fast-changing global landscape, the “comrades plus brothers” bond continues to evolve. Anchored in strategic trust, sustained by close exchanges and driven by expanding cooperation, bilateral ties are showing renewed vitality in a new era.
Frequent exchanges, deeper understanding
Close high-level engagement remains a defining feature of China-Vietnam relations. Xi has emphasized that leaders of the two countries and the two parties should “visit each other as often as relatives do,” calling for maintaining frequent exchanges and communication.
Just days after being elected Vietnam’s state president on April 7, To Lam announced his China visit – his first overseas trip in his dual capacity as general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and Vietnamese president. His delegation, comprising senior officials across key sectors, underscored Hanoi’s strong commitment to bilateral ties.
“Your visit to China at the earliest opportunity after being elected president of Vietnam demonstrates the great importance you have attached to the development of China-Vietnam relations,” Xi said at the very outset of their talks on Wednesday, adding that China has always regarded Vietnam as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy.
Beyond head-of-state diplomacy, people-to-people exchanges are gaining fresh momentum. On Wednesday, the two leaders jointly met with over 300 youth representatives participating in the “Red Study Tours,” a program that allows young people to explore the shared revolutionary heritage that underpins the bilateral friendship.
Xi stressed that the future of China-Vietnam friendship lies with the youth, expressing confidence that younger generations will carry forward the legacy of bilateral friendship.
Since the program’s launch in May, 2025, more than 1,000 young Vietnamese and Chinese participants have retraced the revolutionary footsteps of earlier generations, gaining firsthand insight into shared ideals and China’s modernization drive.
Improved connectivity is also facilitating exchanges. Rail links, such as the Fangchenggang-Dongxing railway and the Nanning-Pingxiang high-speed line, have extended China’s rail network to the Vietnam border, creating faster and more accessible channels for travel and interaction.
Strategic vision guiding practical cooperation
A key takeaway from the latest meeting is the evolving strategic framing of bilateral ties. Xi called for “accelerating the building of a higher-level China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance,” an upgrade from the formulation agreed during his visits to Vietnam in 2023 and 2025.
Xi has repeatedly highlighted the importance of grasping the “special strategic significance” of China-Vietnam relations. During the latest talks, he urged both sides to maintain a high degree of strategic vigilance and strong strategic resolve, always remain confident in their path and system, and ensure that all reform will not change the direction of the path or the nature of the system.
Such strategic consistency has translated into tangible cooperation. The newly established “3+3” ministerial strategic dialogue mechanism, covering diplomacy, defense and public security, enhances bilateral coordination and helps manage differences effectively.
Economic ties continue to expand at pace. China remains Vietnam’s largest trading partner, while Vietnam is China’s largest partner within ASEAN. Bilateral trade reached $256.4 billion in 2025, marking a 24.8% increase. In the first two months of 2026 alone, trade surged by over 30% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, infrastructure connectivity is deepening. Regular China-Vietnam freight trains have increased from five trips per week to 14, forming a vital cross-border logistics corridor. Railway cooperation projects, including the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong standard-gauge railway, are advancing steadily, further integrating regional supply chains.
The two leaders on Wednesday also witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation documents, covering a wide range of areas including inter-party exchanges, public security, justice, economic cooperation, industrial and supply chains, customs, science and technology, people’s livelihoods, human resources development, media, and sub-national cooperation, highlighting the breadth and depth of bilateral engagement.
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