 | |
 China |  Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Chinese Embassy, Hanoi | Vietnamese Embassy, Beijing |
| Envoy | |
| AmbassadorHe Wei | Ambassador Pham Sao Mai |
Relations betweenVietnam andChina (Chinese:越中关系,pinyin:Yuè-Zhōng Guān Xì;Vietnamese:Quan hệ Việt–Trung) had been extensive for a couple of millennia, withNorthern Vietnam especially under heavy Sinosphere influence during historical times. Despite theirSinospheric andsocialist background, centuries ofconquest by modern China'simperial predecessor as well as modern-day tensions have made relations wary.[1][2] The modern relationship has been marked with extensive economic, political and cultural ties, as well asterritorial disputes in theSouth China Sea.
China and Vietnam have lengthy historical connections, including nearly a thousand years during which Vietnam was a dependency of China. Vietnam emerged from the disintegration of China'sTang dynasty in the 900s. Subsequently, China supported theTrần dynasty while the Ming dynasty established a tributary relationship with Vietnam. In 1884, after Chinese defeat in theSino-French War, Vietnam under theNguyễn dynasty became a protectorate of France, marking the end of formal Chinese influence on Vietnam. During theCold War, the People's Republic of China (PRC) ruled by theChinese Communist Party (CCP) assistedNorth Vietnam and theCommunist Party of Vietnam (CPV) during theVietnam War whilst the Taiwan-based Republic of China (ROC)was allied with South Vietnam.
Following thefall of Saigon in 1975 and the subsequent Vietnamese reunification as the Socialist Republic in 1976, relations between the two countries started to deteriorate. Vietnamousted theKhmer Rouge, a party that China propped up whichhad become genocidal, from power in Cambodia. China invaded Vietnam in February 1979, beginning theSino-Vietnamese War. China perceived Vietnam's domination over Indochina from Vietnam's historical legacy (emperorMinh Mạng) whilst Vietnam desired Vietnamese-friendly neighbors (Laos and Cambodia) on its immediate western borders. Cross-border raids and skirmishes ensued, in which China and Vietnam had a series ofborder and naval clashes from 1979 to 1990. The two countries officially normalized diplomatic ties in 1991.
China and Vietnam sharea 1,281 kilometres (796 miles) border. The two countries remain in dispute over political and territorial issues in the South China Sea.[3] Since the normalization of diplomatic ties, both sides have since worked to improve their diplomatic and economic relations. The two countries have been striving for restraint as well as present and future stability.[4][5] The two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2008, China and Vietnam maintain extensive economic ties, with the Vietnamese economy is becoming increasingly connected with China's. As two rulingcommunist parties ofsocialist states, the CCP and CPV maintain close political and ideological ties.[6]
China and Vietnam have lengthy historical connections, including nearly a thousand years during which Vietnam was a dependency of China.[7]: 127 As a result, Vietnam was influenced by Chinese literature, scholarship, modes of family organization, civil administration, and bureaucratic practices.[7]: 127
The earliest reference of the proto-Vietnamese in Chinese annals was theLạc (Chinese: Luo),Lạc Việt, or theDongsonian,[8] an ancient tribal confederacy of perhaps polyglotAustroasiatic andKra-Dai speakers who occupied theRed River Delta in northern Vietnam.[9][10] China and Vietnam had contact since the ChineseWarring States period and the VietnameseThục dynasty in the 3rd century BC (disputed), as noted in the 15th-century Vietnamese historical recordĐại Việt sử ký toàn thư. Between 111 BC and 939, Vietnam was subject tothree separate periods of imperial Chinese domination although it successfully asserted a degree of autonomy with theKhúc clan in 905 and later independence with the establishment of theNgô dynasty in 939. In 968,Đinh Bộ Lĩnh declared himself emperor of theĐinh dynasty, however Vietnam nominally remained a vassal of China until the 19th century. Vietnam was again ruled by China under theMing dynasty from 1407 until the establishment of theLê dynasty in 1428.
According to the old Vietnamese historical recordsĐại Việt sử ký toàn thư andKhâm Định Việt Sử Thông Giám Cương Mục,An Dương Vương (Thục Phán) was a prince of the Chinese state ofShu (蜀, which shares the same Chinese character as his surname Thục),[11]: 19 sent by his father first to explore what are now the southern Chinese provinces ofGuangxi andYunnan and then to move their people to what is now northern Vietnam during the invasion of theQin dynasty.[citation needed]
Some modern Vietnamese scholars[who?] believe thatThục Phán came uponÂu Việt, which is now northernmost Vietnam, westernGuangdong, and southernGuangxi Province, with its capital in what is todayCao Bằng Province).[12] After assembling an army, he defeatedHùng Vương XVIII, the last ruler of theHồng Bàng dynasty, in 258 BC. He proclaimed himself An Dương Vương ("King An Dương"), renamed his newly acquired state fromVăn Lang toÂu Lạc and established the new capital atPhong Khê (nowPhú Thọ, a town in northern Vietnam), where he tried to buildCổ Loa Citadel, the spiral fortress approximately ten miles north of his new capital.[citation needed]
Han Chinese migration into Vietnam has been dated back to the era of the 2nd century BC, whenQin Shi Huang first placednorthern Vietnam under Chinese rule (disputed), Chinese soldiers and fugitives fromCentral China have migrated en masse into northern Vietnam since then and introduced Chinese influences intoVietnamese culture.[13][14] The Chinese military leaderZhao Tuo founded theTriệu dynasty, which ruledNanyue in southern China and northern Vietnam. The Qin governor of Canton advised Zhao to found his own independent kingdom since the area was remote, and there were many Chinese settlers in the area.[11]: 23 Under theEastern Han dynasty, the Chinese prefect ofJiaozhi,Shi Xie, ruled Vietnam as an autonomous warlord and was posthumously deified by later Vietnamese emperors. Shi Xie was the leader of the elite ruling class ofHan Chinese families that immigrated to Vietnam and played a major role in developingVietnam's culture.[11]: 70
Vietnam emerged from the disintegration of China'sTang dynasty in the early 900s.[15]: 49 The border between China and Vietnam was generally stable for the next 800 years, with China challenging the border once.[15]: 49
China invested theTrần dynasty (1225–1400) as Vietnam's rulers.[15]: 50 The Trần's control of Vietnam weakened in the 1390s and in 1400,Hồ Quý Ly deposed the Trần ruler and declared himself the founder of a new dynasty.[15]: 50 The Trần requested that China'sMing dynasty intervene on its behalf.[15]: 50 The Ming sent troops and envoy to re-establish the Trần and quickly defeated Hồ.[15]: 50 The Ming subsequently deemed the Trần to be in disarray and instead reclaimed Vietnam as its own territory.[15]: 50 Subsequent Ming emperors returned the relationship to a tributary with a Vietnamese ruler in Vietnam.[15]: 50
According to a 2018 study in theJournal of Conflict Resolution on Vietnam-China relations from 1365 to 1841, they could be characterized as a "hierarchictributary system" from 1365 to 1841.[16] During Vietnam'sĐại Việt period (968–1804), the Vietnamese court explicitly recognized its unequal status compared to China through explicit institutional mechanisms.[16][15]: 55 Vietnam conducted its relations with China through the tributary system.[15]: 55 During this period, Vietnam was primarilyfocused on addressing its domestic instability and its external relations generally focused to the south and west,[16] including with theChampa kingdom, among others.[15]: 55
In 1884, during Vietnam'sNguyễn dynasty, theQing dynasty andFrance fought theSino-French War, which ended in a Chinese defeat. TheTreaty of Tientsin recognized French dominance in Vietnam and theprotectorate treaty France signed with Vietnam, spelling the end of formal Chinese influence on Vietnam and the beginning of Vietnam'sFrench colonial period.
Both China and Vietnam faced invasion and occupation byImperial Japan duringWorld War II, and Vietnam languished under the rule ofVichy France. In the Chinese provinces ofGuangxi andGuangdong, Vietnamese revolutionaries, led byPhan Bội Châu, had arranged alliances with the Chinese Nationalists, theKuomintang, before the war by marryingVietnamese women to ChineseNational Revolutionary Army officers. Their children were at an advantage since they could speak both languages and so they worked as agents for the revolutionaries, spreading their ideologies across borders. Theintermarriage between Chinese and Vietnamese was viewed with alarm by the French. Chinese merchants also married Vietnamese women and provided funds and help for revolutionary agents.[17]
Late in the war, with Japan andNazi Germany nearing defeat, US PresidentFranklin Roosevelt privately decided that the French should not return in Indochina after the war was over. Roosevelt offered the Kuomintang leader,Chiang Kai-shek, all of Indochina to be under Chinese rule, but Chiang Kai-shek reportedly replied, "Under no circumstances!"[18] In August 1943, China broke diplomatic relations with Vichy France, with theCentral Daily News announcing that diplomatic relations were to be solely between the Chinese and the Vietnamese, with no French intermediary. China had planned to spread massive propaganda on theAtlantic Charter and Roosevelt's statement on Vietnameseself-determination to undermine the French authority in Indochina.[19]
After the Second World War ended, aUnited Nationsmandate, had 200,000 Chinese troops, led by GeneralLu Han, sent byChiang Kai-shek to Indochina north of the16th parallel with the aim of accepting the surrender of the Japanese occupying forces. The troops remained inIndochina until 1946.[20] The Chinese used theViệt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng, the Vietnamese version of the Chinese Kuomintang, and other several factions, to increase their influence in Indochina and to put pressure on their opponents.[21] Nevertheless, Chinese occupational forces allowedHo Chi Minh'sDemocratic Republic of Vietnam (established in 1945) more influence than their British counterparts in the south.[22] Chiang Kai-shek threatened the French with war to force them to negotiate with Ho Chi Minh. In February 1946, Chiang forced the French colonists to surrender all of theirconcessions in China and to renounce theirextraterritorial privileges in exchange for withdrawing from northern Indochina and for allowing French troops to reoccupy the region.[23][24][25][26]
China |  North Vietnam |
|---|---|
 Republic of China |  State of Vietnam |
|---|---|
Republic of China | South Vietnam |
|---|---|
Along with theSoviet Union,China was an important strategic ally of Vietnamese communists (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) during theFirst Indochina War andVietnam War. TheChinese Communist Party provided arms, military training and essential supplies to help the Vietnamese communists against theFrench Union, capitalistRepublic of Vietnam, their ally theUnited States, and other anti-communists between 1950 and 1975.[27] As for the Chinese communists, in the face of the fact that this force was waging a civil war against the Kuomintang's government, the Vietnamese communists supported them with shelter and some necessities. In mid-1949, the Vietnamese communists even sent troops to coordinate with the Chinese communists to expand the control area in the Sino-Vietnamese border area. The efforts of theVietnamese communists (at the time known as the "Viet Minh") were noticed and secretly supported by the Soviet Union and the Chinese communists before 1950. In 1947, the Chinese communists helped the Vietnamese communists buy weapons in Thailand. After Mao Zedong founded the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, Ho Chi Minh immediately sent two groups to China simultaneously to ask for help on October 6. In November 1949, at the World Trade Union Congress held inBeijing, Communist China publicly announced its intention when it announced that it would actively support the revolutionary movement in Indochina. During Mao's December 1949 visit to the Soviet Union, Stalin sought Mao's assistance in supporting the Vietnamese Communists against France in the First Indochina War.[28][29]: 65 [30] Mao accepted Stalin's view of a "worldwide communist revolution" and agreed to share "the international responsibility" and support the Vietnamese communists.[29]: 65 After Mao's return to China, the country began sending military advisors and military aid to the Vietnamese.[29]: 66 In January 1950, China and the Soviet Union recognized the government of the Vietnamese communists and formed the basis of relations changed from party-to-party to state-to-state.[29]: 101 In April 1951, Communist China raised relations with the Vietnamese communists to the ambassadorial level. Meanwhile, thepro-French autonomous government of Vietnam established in June 1949 had diplomatic relations with theRepublic of China, known as "Taiwan".[28][31]
China provided enormous and important support to the Viet Minh both civilly and militarily during the war against France. However, during the1954 Geneva Conference ending theFirst Indochina War, Chinese premierZhou Enlai urged the Viet Minh delegation to accept partition at the17th parallel with the communists ruling the North and pro-French government keeping the South, which was regarded as a betrayal.[32]
During 1964 to 1969, China reportedly sent over 300,000 troops, mostly in anti-aircraft divisions to combat in Vietnam.[33] However, the Vietnamese communists remained suspicious of China's perceived attempts to increase its influence over Vietnam.[34] From 1960 to 1978, China sent aid $20 billion worth of aid to Vietnam. The aid was not a loan and no repayment was asked.[35]: 277
In 1960, China became the first country to recognize the National Liberation Front (theViet Cong) in Vietnam.[36] Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong frequently characterized the bilateral relationship as "comrade plus brother".[37]: 96–97 In 1963,Liu Shaoqi praised the strength of the relationship, stating, "Our friendship has a long history. It is a militant friendship, forged in the storm of revolution, a great class friendship that isproletarian internationalist in character, a friendship that is indestructible."[37]: 97
Vietnam was an ideological battleground during the 1960sSino-Soviet split. After the 1964Gulf of Tonkin incident, Chinese premierDeng Xiaoping secretly promised the North Vietnamese 1 billionyuan in military and economic aid if they refused all Soviet aid.
In response to U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, China launched the Resist America, Aid Vietnam campaign.[38]: 29 The campaign themes denounced U.S. imperialism and promoted Vietnamese resistance.[38]: 29 Localcommunist party cadre organized mass meetings and street demonstrations, and millions of people across the country marched in China to support the campaign between February 9 and February 11, 1965.[38]: 29 The communist party also expanded the campaign into cultural media such asfilm and photography exhibitions, singing contests, and street performances.[38]: 29
During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese and the Chinese had agreed to defer tackling their territorial issues until South Vietnam was defeated. Those issues included the lack of delineation of Vietnam'sterritorial waters in theGulf of Tonkin and the question of sovereignty over theParacel andSpratly Islands in theSouth China Sea.[34] During the 1950s, half of the Paracels were controlled by China and the rest by South Vietnam. In 1958, North Vietnam accepted China's claim to the Paracels and relinquished its own claim;[39] one year earlier, China had cededWhite Dragon Tail Island to North Vietnam.[40] The potential of offshore oil deposits in theGulf of Tonkin heightened tensions between China and South Vietnam.[citation needed]
Vietnam disapproved of China's efforts to improverelations with the United States.[37]: 93 Prime MinisterPhạm Văn Đồng askedMao Zedong to cancel the1972 visit of United States President Richard Nixon to China, but Mao declined.[37]: 93
In 1973, with the Vietnam War drawing to a close, North Vietnam announced its intention to allow foreign companies to explore oil deposits in disputed waters. In January 1974, aclash between Chinese and South Vietnamese forces resulted in China taking complete control of the Paracels, leading to South Vietnam having to strengthen its defense in the Spratly Islands.[34] When South Vietnam nearlyfell in 1975, North Vietnamtook over the South Vietnamese-controlled portions of the Spratly Islands.[34] The unified Vietnam then canceled its earlier renunciation of its claim to the Paracels, and both China and Vietnam claim control over all the Spratlys and actually control some of the islands.[39]
By the mid-1970s, the relationship between China and Vietnam was strained.[37]: 93 The tensions between the two countries developed in relation to a number of issues, including Vietnam's support of the Soviet side during the Sino-Soviet split, Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia, Vietnam's mistreatment of ethnic Chinese in Vietnam, and border conflicts.[37]: 43
Tensions were heightened in the 1970s by the Vietnamese government's oppression of theHoa minority (Vietnamese of Chinese ethnicity[34][41]). In February 1976, Vietnam implemented registration programs in the south.[37]: 94 Ethnic Chinese in Vietnam were required to adopt Vietnamese citizenship or leave the country.[37]: 94 In early 1977, Vietnam implemented what it described as a purification policy in its border areas to keep Chinese border residents to the Chinese side of the border.[37]: 94–95 Following another discriminatory policy introduced in March 1978, a large number of Chinese fled from Vietnam to southern China.[37]: 95 China and Vietnam attempted to negotiate issues related to Vietnam's treatment of ethnic Chinese, but these negotiations failed to resolve the issues.[37]: 95
China's support ofAngkar and theKhmer Rouge inCambodia concerned Vietnamese leadership, which feared encirclement by China.[37]: 94 The 1977Cambodian–Vietnamese War caused tensions with China, which had allied itself withDemocratic Kampuchea that was founded by theMaoist leaderPol Pot (Saloth Sâr).[34][41]
In June 1978, China rescinded the appointment of itsconsul general toHo Chi Minh City and informed Vietnam that it must close three of its consulates in China.[37]: 96 By the end of July 1978, China ended all of its aid programs to Vietnam and recalled all of its experts from Vietnam.[37]: 96
Vietnam had signed a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union and established extensive commercial and military ties.[34][41]
On February 17, 1979, the ChinesePeople's Liberation Army crossed the Vietnamese border but withdrew on March 5, after a two-week campaign had devastated northern Vietnam and briefly threatened the Vietnamese capital,Hanoi.[34] Both sides suffered relatively heavy losses, with thousands of casualties. Subsequent peace talks broke down in December 1979, and China and Vietnam began a major buildup of forces along the border. Vietnam fortified its border towns and districts and stationed as many as 600,000 troops. China stationed 400,000 troops on its side of the border.[citation needed] Sporadic fighting on the border occurred throughout the 1980s, and China threatened to launch another attack to force Vietnam's exit from Cambodia.[34]
With the 1991dissolution of the Soviet Union and Vietnam's 1990 exit from Cambodia, China–Vietnam ties began to improve. Both nations planned the normalization of their relations in a secret summit inChengdu in September 1990, and officially normalized ties on 5 November 1991.[41][42] Since 1991, the leaders and high-ranking officials of both nations have exchanged visits. China and Vietnam both recognized and supported the post-1991 government ofCambodia, and supported each other's bid to join theWorld Trade Organization (WTO).[41]
In their contemporary diplomatic framework, China and Vietnam regularly reference the Sixteen Word Guideline and the Four Good Guiding Spirits.[7]: 125 The Sixteen Word Guideline includes principles such as "Friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, and future-oriented thinking".[7]: 138 The Four Good Guiding Spirits are "Good neighbours, good friends, good comrades, and good partners".[7]: 138
As part of efforts to develop border trade between the two countries,People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers began large scalemine-clearing operations along the border in 1993.[29]: 193
In 1999, theGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam,Lê Khả Phiêu, visitedBeijing, where he metGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist PartyJiang Zemin and announced a joint16 Word Guideline for improved bilateral relations; a Joint Statement for Comprehensive Cooperation was issued in 2000.[41] In 2000, Vietnam and China successfully resolved longstanding disputes over their land border and maritime rights in theGulf of Tonkin, including the cession of land surrounding theFriendship Pass to China.[27][41][43] Phiêu delayed the signing of Vietnam's first bilateral trade treaty with the United States because he was concerned about the potential Chinese response.[7]: 138
A joint agreement between China andASEAN in 2002 marked out a process of peaceful resolution and guarantees against armed conflict.[41] In 2002, Jiang Zemin made an official visit to Vietnam in which numerous agreements were signed to expand trade and co-operation and to resolve outstanding disputes.[27]
China and Vietnam signed a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2008.[44]: 14 In 2009, they signed a protocol on science and technology cooperation.[45]: 158 In November 2009, the two countries signed a land boundary demarcation agreement on their land borders.[45]: 158
In October 2011, CPV general secretaryNguyễn Phú Trọng made an official visit to China at the invitation of CCP general secretaryHu Jintao with the aim of improving relations in the wake of the border disputes.[46]
On 1 December 2015, Vietnam and China signed an agreement to resolve border marker problems and to enhance cooperation in protecting and managing border markers.[45]: 167
In 2020, for the celebration of Vietnam's 75thNational Day, CCP general secretaryXi Jinping and CPV general secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng reaffirmed their bilateral ties while looking back saying: "In the past 70 years, although there have been some ups and downs in bilateral relations, friendship and cooperation had always been the main flow."[47] Nguyễn Phú Trọng visited China in 2022 where he met Xi, becoming the first foreign leader to meet Xi after he secured a third term in the20th CCP National Congress.[48] Both leaders released a joint statement, calling for cooperation in economic, political, defense and security areas and working together in "the fight against terrorism, 'peaceful evolution', 'colour revolution' and the politicisation of human rights issues".[48]
Vietnamese prime ministerPhạm Minh Chính visited China in June 2023 to attend a summit of theWorld Economic Forum. While in China, he met with Xi, Chinese premierLi Qiang,[49] chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's CongressZhao Leji,[50] and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative ConferenceWang Huning.[51] Phạm additionally visitedXiong'an New Area, a key project of Xi. In December 2023, Xi visited Vietnam, where both countries upgraded their relationship to a "community witha shared future of humanity", also translated as "community of common destiny for mankind" by Vietnam.[52]
In August 2024, CPV general secretaryTô Lâm visited China, meetingWang Huning, a member of theCCP Politburo Standing Committee, on August 19, 2024. They discussed the strategic plans established by their leaders to enhance the China–Vietnam relationship and promote their shared future. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to advancing cooperation between their countries. The meeting also included Hu Chunhua and Wang Dongfeng.[53] While in Beijing, Tô Lâm visited theChairman Mao Memorial Hall, and visited several former headquarters, bases, and memorials of the Vietnamese communists inGuangzhou.[52] On 13 October 2024, Vietnam and China signed 10 agreements to boost cross-border rail links, payment systems, and economic cooperation, while also enhancing defense and trade relations.[54]
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In April 2025, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinpingvisited Vietnam to reaffirm bilateral relations and to urge Vietnam to oppose "unilateral bullying" in response to US PresidentDonald Trump'sLiberation Day tariffs. Xi also met with General Secretary Tô Lâm and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính.[55] During the visit, the two countries signed 45 agreements aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. These agreements covered a range of sectors, includingsupply chain integration,artificial intelligence, joint maritime patrols, and railway infrastructure development.[56] On 30 April 2025, the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, the PLA for the first time joined armies of Laos and Cambodia as part of Vietnam's military parade for the occasion. Vietnamese state media also disclosed for the first time that over 300,000 Chinese military personnel in North Vietnam provided assistance during the Vietnam War. On 2 September 2025, at the 80thNational Day celebrations of Vietnam, the PLA joined the armies of Russia, Laos, and Cambodia in Vietnam's military parade to commemorate the day.[52]
As of at least 2024, the Vietnamese economy is becoming increasingly connected with China's.[57]: 102 Vietnam is China's eighth largest trading partner, and largest among southeast Asian countries.[57]: 102 After both sides resumed trade links in 1991, growth in annual bilateral trade increased from only US$32 million in 1991 to almost US$7.2 billion in 2004.[58] By 2011, the trade volume had reached US$25 billion.[46] In 2019, the total value of trade between the two countries amounted to US$224 billion.[59] As of 2024, China accounted for 18.2% of the total exports values of Vietnam and 37.8% of imports of Vietnam.[60]
Vietnam's exports to China includecrude oil,coal,coffee, and food, and China exportspharmaceuticals,machinery,petroleum,fertilizers, andautomobile parts to Vietnam. Both nations are working to establish an "economic corridor" from China'sYunnan Province to Vietnam's northern provinces and cities and similar economic zones linking China'sGuangxi Province with Vietnam'sLạng Sơn andQuang Ninh Provinces, and the cities ofHanoi andHaiphong.[58] Air and sea links and a railway line have been opened between the countries, along with national-level seaports in the frontier provinces and regions of the two countries.[27] Joint ventures have furthermore been launched, such as the Thai Nguyen Steel Complex,[58] but the deal eventually fell through, resulting in the bankruptcy of state-owned Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel VSC and the withdrawal of theChina Metallurgical Group Corporation from the project.[61] Vietnam became able to exportdurian to China in 2022.[62]
Chinese investments in Vietnam have been rising since 2015, reaching US$2.17 billion in 2017.[63] In 2018, protesters went on the streets in Vietnam against government plans to open newspecial economic zones, including one inQuang Ninh, near the Chinese border, which would allow 99-year land leases, citing concerns about Chinese dominance.[64][65] In July 2025, China criticized a trade agreement that Vietnam reached with the United States, which imposed a tariff on thetransshipment of non-Vietnamese good via Vietnam.[66][67]
In 2014, China and Vietnam reached an agreement on holding annual border defense friendly exchange activities. In March of the same year, China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Vietnam's Quang Ninh Province held the first Sino-Vietnamese border defense friendly exchange activity, which was co-chaired by the defense ministers of the two countries. Since then, the two sides have taken turns to hold this activity every year. As of July 2025, it has been held nine times. In July 2025, the Ministry of National Defense of China announced that it would hold the "Walking Hand in Hand-2025" joint army training with Vietnam in Guangxi in mid-to-late July. This activity will be the first joint army training between China and Vietnam. China stated that this joint training will be based on the theme of "joint duty training in border areas" to strengthen mutual learning and mutual reference of border duty experience and further deepen practical cooperation between the two militaries.[68]
The land border of China and Vietnam is 1,347 kilometers.[37]: 95 Two Chinese provinces adjoin the border, and seven Vietnamese provinces do.[37]: 94–95
Border disputes between the two countries were significant in the 1970s.[37]: 95 One hundred sixty-four locations on the land border totaling 227 square kilometers were disputed.[37]: 95 Because there was not yet clear border demarcation, the countries engaged in a pattern of retaliatory land grabs and violence.[37]: 95 The number of border skirmishes increased yearly from 125 in 1974 to 2,175 in 1978.[37]: 95
The two countries attempted a first round of negotiations to resolve land border issues, but were not successful.[37]: 95 A second round of negotiations in August 1978 was also unsuccessful because of theYouyi Pass Incident in which the Vietnamese army and police expelled 2,500 refugees across the border into China.[37]: 95 Vietnamese authorities beat and stabbed refugees during the incident, as well as 9 Chinese civilian border workers.[37]: 95 Following this event, Vietnam occupied the Pu Nian Ling area, which China also claimed.[37]: 95
In June 2011, Vietnam announced that its military would conduct new exercises in theSouth China Sea. China had previously voiced its disagreement over Vietnamese oil exploration in the area, stating that theSpratly Islands and the surrounding waters were its sovereign territory.[69] Defense of the South China Sea was cited as one of the possible missions of the first ChinesePLA Navy aircraft carrier, theLiaoning, which entered service in September 2012.[70]
On 21 June 2012, Vietnam passed a law entitled the "Law on the Sea", which placed both theSpratly Islands and theParacel Islands under Vietnamese jurisdiction, prompting China to label the move as "illegal and invalid."[71][37]: 228 A month afterwards, China enacted a previously delayed plan establishedprefecture ofSansha City,[37]: 228 which encompassed theXisha (Paracel),Zhongsha, andNansha (Spratly) Islands and the surrounding waters.[72] Vietnam proceeded to a strong opposition to the measure and the reaffirmation of its sovereignty over the islands. Other countries surrounding the South China Sea have claims to the two island chains, includingTaiwan,Brunei,Malaysia, and thePhilippines.[71][73]
In May 2013 Vietnam accused China of hitting one of its fishing boats.[74]
On 7 June 2013, the two countries established a naval hotline.[45]: 162 On 21 June 2013, Vietnam and China established a hot line to deal with fisheries incidents.[45]: 162
In May 2014, Vietnam accused China of ramming and sinking a fishing boat.[75] In recent years, Beijing oversaw the replacement of traditional Chinese wooden fishing vessels with steel-hulled trawlers, fitted with modern communication and high-tech navigation systems. The better-equipped boats sailed into the disputed waters as a state-subsidized operation to extend Chinese sovereignty, while in Vietnam, private citizens, not the government, would donate to Vietnamese fishermen to maintain their position in the South China Sea and to defend national sovereignty.[76] That dynamic continues to be a major source of tension between the two countries.[citation needed]
In May 2014, both countries sparred overan oil rig in disputed territory in the South China Sea, which triggereddeadly anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam.[77] Rioters attacked hundreds of foreign-owned factories in an industrial park in southern Vietnam, targeting Chinese ones.[78] Following the damage, the Vietnamese government pursued a more moderate foreign policy approach with China and sought to improve the bilateral relations.[37]: 3
In June China declared there would be no military conflict with Vietnam.[77] China then had 71 ships in the disputed area, and Vietnam had 61.[79]
However, on 2 June 2014, it was reported by VGP News, the online newspaper of the Vietnamese Government that the previous day, Chinese ships had in three waves attacked twoVietnam Coast Guard ships, a Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ship and a number of other ships by physically ramming the ships and with water cannons.[80]
In 2017, Beijing warned Hanoi that it would attack Vietnamese bases in the Spratly Islands if gas drilling continued in the area. Hanoi then ordered Spain'sRepsol, whose subsidiary was conducting the drilling, to stop drilling.[81][82]
Through 2019 and 2020, Chinese ships have continued attacking and sinking of Vietnamese fishing and other vessels in different incidents.[83] Vietnam only reacted to these incidents by official statements and diplomatic protests.[84] In late 2020, Chinese Defense MinisterWei Fenghe met withVietnamese ambassador to ChinaPhạm Sao Mai in an attempt to cool down tensions after an increased number of incidents.[85] The Vietnamese strategy on the South Chinese Sea disputes has been described as a long term consistent act of "balancing, international integration and 'cooperation and struggle'."[86]
In 2020,Bloomberg News reported that ahacker group known asAPT32 orOceanLotus, allegedly affiliated with the Vietnamese government, targeted China'sMinistry of Emergency Management and the Wuhan municipal government in order to obtain information about theCOVID-19 pandemic. TheVietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the accusations unfounded.[87][88][89] In May 2020, an Israeli cybersecurity company reported to have discovered ransomware attacks targeting government systems in Vietnam and several other countries by China-linked groups.[90]
Illegal border crossings by Chinese nationals was linked by the Vietnamese public as the perceived cause of new COVID-19 infections in Vietnam, although there had been no evidence for this.[91][92]
In August 2021 shortly before an expected visit by US Vice PresidentKamala Harris, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reassured Xiong Bo, the Chinese envoy to Hanoi that Vietnam will not enter an alliance to counter China.[93] Pham suggested the two nations should join withASEAN to expedite "the slow-moving negotiations" and achieve a code of conduct in the disputed South China Sea region and that his country wanted to build political trust, cooperation and promote exchange with China. Xiong stated in the meeting that the two communist nations shared the same political system and beliefs and that China was willing to work with Vietnam and stick to the two countries' high-level strategic directive to further develop ties. Xiong also requested for Vietnam's support in opposing what China claims as "politicisation" ofCOVID-19 origin investigations.[94]
In March 2023, Chinese and Vietnamese vessels had chased each other in South China Sea in an incident where Chinese ship intruded into Vietnam's Special Economic Zone.[95]
On December 12, 2023, the two countries announced 36 cooperation agreements during avisit by CCP General SecretaryXi Jinping to Vietnam.[96] The agreements addressed a variety of issues, including cross-border rail development, digital infrastructure, and establishing joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin and a hotline to handleSouth China Sea fishing incidents.[96] China and Vietnam also issued a joint statement to support building acommunity of shared future for humankind.[96] In September 2024, Vietnamese media reported that Chinese personnel boarded a Vietnamese fishing vessel near the Parcel Islands and beat its crew with iron bars.[97] Vietnam and the Philippines condemned the attack while China disputed Vietnam's version of the incident.[98]
In 2014, a survey conducted by thePew Research Center showed 84% of Vietnamese were concerned that disputes relating to the South China Sea could lead to military conflict.[99] During the 2010s, due to factors including territorial disputes, Vietnamese public was largely negative to China, coinciding withpro-American sentiments.[52] Since the 2020s, Vietnamese public opinion was noted to have moved to become more favorable towards China.[52][100]
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