It is undoubtedly a common expectation of Beijing and Hanoi that the ongoing visit to China of To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and president of Vietnam, can help further synergize the two countries' joint efforts to advance together along the socialist path, build a community with a shared future, and safeguard international fairness and justice.

Lam said recently that his country has always given top priority to developing relations with China, which is the only country that meets all the priority factors of Vietnam's foreign policy. Choosing China as the destination for his first overseas visit since he was elected chief of the CPV on Aug 3 fully reflects the high importance Hanoi attaches to developing relations between the two parties and the two countries.

The ardor and earnestness Vietnam has demonstrated in that regard has always been reciprocated by China, which offers its sincerity and full support for cooperation in return. As President Xi Jinping said in his signed article published in the Nhan Dan Newspaper of Vietnam at the end of last year before his visit to the country, the Chinese side always takes it as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy to develop relations with Vietnam.

China not only values its traditional friendship with Vietnam, but is also committed to enhancing their common interest with mutually beneficial cooperation so as to keep their "camaraderie plus brotherhood" relationship thriving in the new era, enabling it to deliver more benefits to the two peoples.

On the basis of their fruitful 15-year comprehensive strategic partnership, China and Vietnam agreed on building a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance during Xi's visit to Hanoi, which has served to push the relations between the two countries and the two parties to a new strategic height.

Lam's three-day visit starting on Sunday is set to produce a series of agreements on cooperation projects that will substantiate future mutual efforts to help translate that vision into reality, and add new substance to the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness that guide their relations.

China has long been Vietnam's largest trading partner, and Vietnam is China's biggest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the fourth-largest globally. The China-Vietnam bilateral trade volume reached $230 billion in 2023, accounting for about one-fourth of the latter's foreign trade.

The two countries are now looking to accelerate the docking of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy, and broaden cooperation in such areas as connectivity, green energy and critical minerals.

That being said, as long as the two sides stay focused on the right direction of development of their respective party and country, the two neighbors have no reason to allow their maritime disputes to be leveraged by any external party to sow discord among them. They should act on the common understandings reached by their leaders, properly manage their differences on maritime issues, and jointly look for mutually acceptable solutions.

The more some are trying to drive a wedge between them, the more efforts they should make to vigorously promote cooperation and communication to build an enabling external environment for their respective development and to realize long-term stability and security in the region.

Both China and Vietnam value the importance of dialogue, consultation and peaceful cooperation, and firmly uphold the basic norms of international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. They should support each other on issues involving their respective core interests and major concerns, and maintain close coordination in regional and international cooperation mechanisms.

It is anticipated that the Vietnamese leader's visit will inject more positive energy into the two neighbors' joint efforts to promote their long-term development and regional peace and stability.