China and Vietnam are two socialist countries bonded by their ruling communist parties since formally establishing diplomatic ties in 1950.
Geopolitical differences caused challenges for the two neighbors from time to time, but since normalizing relations in 1991, China and Vietnam have steadily strengthened their official partnership.
In 2008, China became the first country to forge a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam, the highest level on Vietnam's diplomatic scale.
Last December, China and Vietnam agreed to further upgrade ties, pledging to build a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
In a joint statement, the two countries vowed to step up cooperation in a wide range of areas including security, trade, and cultural exchanges.
During the Vietnamese prime minister's June visit to Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping commended the two countries' progress.
XI JINPING Chinese President \"Over the past six months the two Parties and two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges, and cooperation in various fields is going smoothly. The construction of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future is off to a good start, which brings concrete benefits to the people of both countries.\"
China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner for the past 20 years, with two-way trade for 2024 predicted to exceed 200-billion US dollars.
Investment to Vietnam from China also witnessed a big increase last year.
To enhance connectivity, Vietnam is planning to build high-speed rail lines to China in the next few years.
While China built Vietnam's first metro line, which went into operation in Hanoi in 2021, the two aim to accomplish more infrastructure projects together, under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and Vietnam's Two Corridors and One Economic Circle plan.
In an act of cooperation, the Chinese and Vietnamese navies concluded their 36th joint patrol in the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea in June.
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