Vietnam boosts China ties as 'bamboo diplomacy' follows US upgrade

Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre) and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (centre left) walk past signed agreements displayed at the Central Office of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Hanoi on Dec 12, 2023. - AP

HANOI: Communist-ruled China and Vietnam, at odds over claims in the South China Sea, agreed on Tuesday (Dec 12) to boost ties and build a community with a "shared future", three months after Hanoi upgraded its formal relations with the United States.

On Chinese President Xi Jinping's first visit to Hanoi in six years, the two countries announced 37 deals, including on diplomatic ties, railways and telecommunications.