Tradition, tea and tomorrow: Xi Jinping's stories with Vietnam

When To Lam made his first visit to China as Vietnam's top leader in August last year, he started the trip not in Beijing but in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, Guangdong province — a special arrangement that President Xi Jinping later hailed as "quite meaningful".

It was in Guangzhou, a century earlier, that Ho Chi Minh, the late Vietnamese leader, began his revolutionary activities in China, a period of history that Xi described as "a shared red memory" between the two countries' ruling parties.

Xi is making his fourth state visit to Vietnam as general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president. The trip coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam, two socialist neighbors that have forged an enduring bond as "comrades and brothers".

Behind the metaphors lies more than a diplomatic formality. Xi sees the enduring China-Vietnam friendship as a living cause to be carried forward. His ongoing visit offers a moment to draw inspiration from the storied past to chart the future course of bilateral relations.

During a state visit to Vietnam in 2017, Xi brought along a special national gift — 19 issues of The People's Daily, the official newspaper of the CPC Central Committee.

Among the newspapers were 16 yellowed copies carrying news reports on Ho Chi Minh. "These newspapers date back to Chairman Ho's visit to China in 1955. It took us quite some effort to find them," Xi said.

One notable edition, dated June 26, 1955, featured a front page photo of Ho alongside Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other first-generation CPC leaders.

Ho, who founded the Communist Party of Vietnam in Hong Kong and led Vietnam's liberation, forged close personal ties with CPC leaders during his 12 years of revolutionary activities in China.

"He was like a brother for Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai and other Chinese leaders," Xi wrote in a signed article published by the major Vietnamese newspaper Nhan Dan (People) ahead of his 2017 visit.

Xi holds dear the indelible contributions these great forerunners made to fostering the China-Vietnam friendship. During his first state visit to Vietnam in 2015, in a speech to Vietnam's National Assembly, Xi quoted Ho's words, "China and Vietnam enjoy comradely and brotherly friendship."

Xi once shared his personal regard for Chairman Ho while speaking with Vietnamese youths. "We call him 'Uncle Ho'," Xi said. He noted that in the hearts of the Chinese people of his generation, Chairman Ho is remembered as the best friend of the Chinese people.

In 2011, Xi, then Chinese vice-president, visited Ho's former residence to learn more about his life. Before his departure, Xi left an inscription, "The great man's spirit shall be honored for millennia, and the China-Vietnam friendship shall endure through the ages."

Six years later, during the 2017 state visit, Xi once again toured Ho's former residence. At a pond near the Ban Sao Nak, the wooden house where Ho once lived and worked, Xi learned to clap his hands before feeding fish, the same practice that Ho used for drawing fish closer.

Reflecting on bilateral ties during that visit, Xi said, "We should learn from Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and Chairman Ho, and carry forward and develop the China-Vietnam friendship for the benefit of both our peoples."

Tea chats

During To Lam's 2024 China tour, Xi prepared a tea gathering for him at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The Vietnamese leader chose China as his first overseas destination only two weeks after being confirmed as general secretary of the CPV Central Committee. An editorial in Nhan Dan highlighted the value both countries place on their traditional friendship.

President Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan, also invited To Lam's wife, Ngo Phuong Ly, to a tea gathering, where they enjoyed traditional Chinese performances, including Chinese opera.

Over the years, tea chats have evolved into a routine yet distinctive tradition during mutual visits between Chinese and Vietnamese leaders, given the two countries' similar tea cultures.

"Unlike formal talks, tea talks offer a more intimate and personal form of communication for both leaders," said Pan Jin'e, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Department of International Communist Movement.

Gift-giving during tea chats has created lasting memories in bilateral interactions. During Xi's state visit to Vietnam in 2023, then Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong, at a tea gathering in Hanoi, presented Xi with a painting depicting a previous tea chat they had shared in Beijing. "It might not be particularly remarkable, but the true value lies in the cherished brotherly friendship," Trong told Xi.

In 2017, after a tea talk in Beijing, Xi presented Trong with a replica of Chairman Ho's handwritten poem in Chinese titled "Walking".The poem is about Ho's arduous yet determined quest for his nation's liberation.

Xi also quoted the poem in his speech to Vietnam's National Assembly in 2015, to encourage both sides to take a farsighted view on bilateral ties.

China and Vietnam are both socialist countries led by communist parties with similar political systems and development paths.

Xi once said, "China and Vietnam have achieved what we have today, because we have insisted on reform, opening-up and innovation, and because we have found a development path that meets our own national conditions."

In this era of transformation and challenges, the two neighbors have decided to set their sights higher. During Xi's state visit to Vietnam in 2023, they pledged to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. "We should walk along this path together," Xi told Trong at the end of that trip.

Young front-runners

During Xi's 2023 state visit, Trong arranged a special meeting in Hanoi for the Chinese leader. The event brought together young Chinese and Vietnamese representatives, as well as individuals who had contributed to building the friendship between the two countries.

Xi encouraged the attendees, particularly the young people, to "take the lead" in promoting bilateral friendship as "front-runners". It was during this occasion that Le Nguyet Quynh, a Vietnamese student, met Xi for the first time.

Quynh is now a 19-year-old freshman majoring in economics at Tsinghua University, which is Xi's alma mater. Describing her impression of Xi, she said, "He is kind, tall and dignified."

Representing Vietnamese youths, Quynh gave a speech in front of Xi at the event in 2023. A picture of that moment is now the cover image of her profile on WeChat, China's most popular all-in-one messaging app.

"Every time a classmate adds me on WeChat and sees that I had met Xi Dada, they are all curious about how it happened," Quynh said. "It was a marvelous experience, indeed."

The affectionate title "Dada "refers to uncle in Chinese dialects, and has been given to Xi by Chinese netizens.

Quynh, whose hometown is in Vietnam's Nghe An Province, the birthplace of Ho Chi Minh, started learning Chinese in junior high. After stumbling upon a video report of Xi's visit to his alma mater, she set her sights on attending Tsinghua University.

Like Quynh, many Vietnamese students have chosen to pursue higher education in China. Around 20,000 Vietnamese students studied in China during the 2023-24 academic year. The number of Chinese students in Vietnam is also on the rise.

Xi's belief that amity between nations lies in the affinity between their peoples strikes a chord with Quynh.

"No matter where you go, if people from two countries can get along well, they'll naturally start sharing elements of their cultures with one another. That's how friendships grow and last," Quynh said.

"And when it comes to maintaining the friendship between our two nations, it's indeed we the youth who should carry that responsibility forward," she added.

Xinhua