Xi Jinping visits Vietnam to counter American influence and build “a community of shared destinies”

2023-12-14 15:25:05

MONDE – China’s offensive to counter US influence in the Asia-Pacific continues. A month after normalizing its relations with Australia, Beijing, which still criticizes those who “strive to cause unrest in the region”, seeks to “deepen and increase” its relations with Hanoi. President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam on December 12 and 13, 2023, three months after that of his American counterpart Joe Biden. This trip, which ended with the signing of around thirty agreements, is part of the Chinese strategy aimed at consolidating its sphere of influence in a region where its rival Washington has also increased its strategic partnerships.

Beijing continues to reconnect with Uncle Sam’s allies in Oceania. After welcoming Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in November, then former New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins before him, Xi Jinping this time traveled to Hanoi to meet his counterpart Vo Van Thuong and the leader of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong.

The latter is at the origin of Vietnam’s “bamboo diplomacy”, a flexible approach which aims to maintain good relations with all great powers, including rivals, as is the case with the United States and China. . Hanoi shares Washington’s concerns over tensions in the South China Sea. American President Joe Biden also rendered in December to this Asian Tiger, a visit during which a global strategic partnership agreement, which focuses on the economic and technological plans, was signed.

Community of destinies

China had to react to the American offensive. During his visit, Xi Jinping called on the Vietnamese to “oppose any attempt to disrupt the Asia-Pacific”, a month after denouncing, during Anthony Albanese’s visit, those who “are striving to cause unrest in the region”. “We must first remain vigilant, and then fight them,” he said. He reiterated this statement on Wednesday, December 13, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua: “We must strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs and jointly maintain a healthy external environment”he added.

The leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CP) did not fail to recall the ideological links between the two countries. “It’s like I’m visiting relatives or neighbors. China and Vietnam are connected by mountains and rivers, share similar cultures, share the same ideals and share a common destiny.

In a joint statement, the two presidents expressed their intention to “continue to deepen and increase their bilateral relations”. The Chinese leader’s trip is a historic step in bilateral relations (…) contributing to peace, stability and development in this region and in the world. They agreed to build “a community with a common future” and “to embark on a sunny road to build together a community of shared destinies for humanity”.

The expression recalls a document of around twenty pages, entitled “A global community of shared destiny: China’s proposals and actions”, submitted by Beijing at the UN last September and summarizing Xi Jinping’s 10 years of diplomacy. The document details China’s vision of global governance, according to which the era of “political blocs” and “universal values” imposed by “a handful of Western states” would be over.

For its part, Vietnam, courted by the two leading world powers, “agreed to build with China a Sino-Vietnamese strategic community of shared destiny”. For Xi Jinping, “Asia’s future is in the hands of no one but Asians”. More than 30 agreements have been signed, including one relating to the development of railway lines between the two countries.

This visit also focused on security and maritime issues, in a context marked by high tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

Vietnam’s strategic rapprochement with the United States is explained by claims to this sea, just like those of Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Moreover, Hanoi expressed its dissatisfaction with Beijing in September, after the publication of an official Chinese map showing China’s sovereignty over almost the entire area, strategic for global trade.

The Asia-Pacific, a Sino-American monopoly

After welcoming Australian Prime Minister Xi Jinping to Beijing is silent maintained with Fijian leader Sitiveni Rabuka. Their meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum) summit, during which the Chinese president was welcomed by Joe Biden.

This summit took on the appearance of a battleground for influence between the two economic powers, with, on the one hand, the USA trying to establish new partnerships in this part of the world and, on the other hand, China which counters what it describes as “encirclement” by normalizing its relations with the powers of the region.

This war for influence between the two rivals in the Asia-Pacific relegates to the background the role, particularly geopolitical, that the European Union can play, around 40% of whose foreign trade passes through the South China Sea. The EU’s strong economic presence in the region was also affected in November, with the failure of negotiations on its free trade agreement with Australia, which is taking advantage of the normalization of its relations with Beijing to resume a similar partnership.

France, for its part, is experiencing a strategic downgrade in the Asia-Pacific, associated with the rise of China and the priority given by the United States to this region for a decade. According to researchersthe position considered “ambiguous” of Paris, shared between a “vassalage” towards Washington, a desire, however, not to be “follower” of these two powers and its interests with China contributed to this loss of influence.

This was confirmed by the Aukus affair, when Australia canceled a $37 billion contract with France to build diesel-electric submarines, opting instead for submarines with nuclear propulsion supplied by the United States and the United Kingdom. The Asia-Pacific is not “among France’s main strategic interests” according to observers, unlike Africa, despite an increasingly reduced presence and influence…