(ZENIT News – Asia News / Hanoi, 04.10.2024).- The Chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly Vương Đình Huệ arrived in China on Sunday and has already held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has proposed greater cooperation between the two communist countries in the South China Sea and on a number of trade and development projects.
Meanwhile, back in Vietnam, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States (Vatican’s «foreign minister») arrived today for a six-day visit, a historical first.
Huệ’s is one Vietnam’s four “pillars” (along with the party chief, the prime minister, and the president). His visit to Beijing comes after President Võ Văn Thưởng was dismissed last month over unspecified wrongdoings and after Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn visited China following a trip to the United States.
An anti-corruption campaign has been underway in Vietnam for about a year, leading to the dismissal of several officials who held leading positions within the Communist Party.
Huệ seems to be one of the few qualified politicians to replace Thưởng (who had opened the country to foreign investors but also favoured dialogue with the Vatican by inviting Pope Francis to Vietnam), but not all observers agree.
“The last thing China wants is a country like Vietnam, that shares borders with it, getting too close to the U.S.,” said University of Adelaide Professor Jack Butcher speaking to Nikkei Asia.
China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner and a vital source of imports for its manufacturing sector, while Vietnam ranks No. 2 for Chinese exports after the United States.
Still, in Southeast Asia, the Vietnamese are the most concerned about Chinese influence, especially with regard to Chinese provocations in the South China Sea, where Beijing has repeatedly violated the maritime sovereignty of other countries.
Huệ today said that he hopes “China will have an important contribution to global peace, cooperation and development,” while the two countries further develop their economic and trading relations.
During’s Xi’s visit to Vietnam in December, the two communist neighbours signed a series of agreements, including the development of a community with a «shared future».
Today, the Vietnam News Agency reported that Archbishop Gallagher is set to meet with his counterpart, Bùi Thanh Sơn, as well as Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính. After the meetings, the Vatican’s top diplomat will lead Eucharistic celebrations in the capital Hanoi as well as Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s financial hub.
Archbishop Gallagher’s visit is an important step in the rapprochement between Vietnam and the Holy See, after relations ended with the complete Communist takeover of the country in 1975.
After lengthy work by a joint commission, a major step towards re-establishment of full diplomatic relations was taken in July last year when former President Võ Văn Thưởng and Pope Francis signed an agreement on the presence of a permanent papal representative in Vietnam. Archbishop Marek Zalewski was appointed to the post and is currently serving in that capacity in Hanoi.
During the Secretary of State’s visit the issue of Pope Francis’s possible trip to Vietnam will be discussed. Last Christmas, then President Võ Văn Thưởng sent an official invitation for such a visit, something that Vietnamese Catholics hope will take place soon, perhaps even during the pontiff’s planned visit to other Asian countries next September.
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