There’s been a lot of publicity about a meeting this weekend between the leaders of Taiwan and mainland China. That meeting takes place in Singapore on Saturday. But there’s been a bit less publicity about another stop the China’s leader is making before that. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has had a pretty busy past couple of months when it comes to diplomacy on the road. In late September, he was in the United States - including dinner at the White House and a series of meetings with technology leaders. Late last month, he was off to the United Kingdom with a state banquet that included pomp, ceremony and the queen. He also signed trade and investment deals there in the range of nearly 50-billion dollars.
Today he’s making the first visit a Chinese leader has made to Vietnam in a decade. The two countries have had a volatile history….going back hundreds of years. Today they are in active dispute over territorial issues in the South China Sea. And yet on the economic side - ties have grown.
Five years ago, China accounted for about 12% of Vietnam’s trade. Today that figure is roughly 20%. Vietnam has also grown closer to the United States in recent years - and unlike China, is part of the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership. As for the Vietnamese public - attitudes toward the two countries are a stark contrast. Bloomberg quotes a recent survey by the Pew Research Center that shows 78% of Vietnamese have a favorable view of the United States. The same survey finds only 19% of Vietnamese have a favorable view of China.
