Chinese scholar impressed with Vietnam's diplomatic achievements
Professor Liu Ruonan from University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), China expressed her impression of Vietnam's diplomatic achievements.
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On the occasion of the 33rd Diplomatic Conference and the 22nd Foreign Affairs Conference organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam in early August, Professor Liu Ruonan shared with World & Vietnam Report some assessments of Vietnam's outstanding diplomatic achievements in recent times as well as expectations for these two important conferences.
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| Professor Liu Ruonan is currently teaching at University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) (China). (Photo: NVCC) |
Great efforts, great achievements
In the context of the world rapidly shifting towards a multipolar order and increasing strategic competition among major powers, Professor Liu Ruonan believes that in recent years, Vietnam has pursued a highly active diplomatic agenda, achieving significant results through a diversified and balanced foreign policy, with a key focus on continuously strengthening economic resilience.
Specifically, Vietnam has maintained a balance in its relations with major countries, actively participated in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and established close economic ties with countries in the region, as well as successfully concluded a free trade negotiation with the EFTA bloc.
Through these efforts, Vietnam has successfully achieved numerous successes and important diplomatic milestones, including 10 visits by high-level Vietnamese leaders to other countries, welcoming 13 delegations of foreign leaders to Vietnam, and increasing the number of partners with comprehensive partnership relations to 45 countries as of July 2026.
Overall, these positive outcomes have marked a shift in Vietnam's foreign policy priorities from "responding to challenges" to "proactively shaping and establishing rules" at multilateral forums.
According to Professor Liu Ruonan, some key milestones affirming this shift include: First, the "four no's" defense policy reflected in the documents of the Party Congresses and directives, resolutions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Politburo, and the Secretariat of Vietnam.
Second, strengthening comprehensive cooperation relations with many partners worldwide, such as European countries, Japan, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the UK... to further develop these relationships.
Third, Vietnam is pushing for extensive domestic reforms in various fields to integrate more deeply into the international community.
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| As of July 2026, Vietnam has conducted 10 visits by high-level leaders to other countries, welcomed 13 delegations of foreign leaders to Vietnam, and increased the number of partners with comprehensive partnership relations to 45 countries. (Source: Internet) |
Expectations for Vietnam's role
With many international scholars recognizing Vietnam as a "connecting nation" playing a key role in the Asia-Pacific region, Professor Liu Ruonan agrees with this assessment.
She noted that in 2019, Vietnam made positive contributions to the peace negotiation process on the Korean Peninsula between the US and North Korea. Currently, with a network of 17 free trade agreements (FTAs) with 65 partners across continents, investment flows from major powers and other economies into Vietnam are steadily increasing, while Vietnam's export turnover to major markets such as the US and the European Union (EU) is expanding. Additionally, Vietnam plays a crucial role in China's overseas supply chain.
On this basis, Professor Liu Ruonan believes that, in terms of diplomacy, Vietnam's efforts and contributions on both bilateral and multilateral fronts need to be continuously implemented; in terms of economy and international integration, Vietnam should continue to maintain the openness of its economy and proactively diversify export markets to create momentum for achieving the double-digit growth target set.
More importantly, expert Liu Ruonan also affirmed that digital transformation and green transformation are top priorities and standout highlights in Vietnam's economic diplomacy.
In this regard, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 Agreement has incorporated provisions related to digital and green transformation into the FTA content. Moreover, these two important processes are also found in many economic-trade cooperation agreements between Vietnam and other countries during high-level visits, and these are clear achievements of Vietnam's economic diplomacy.
Besides focusing on attracting foreign investment and technology transfer, according to the Chinese scholar, another essential aspect is that Vietnam needs to expand its domestic market while deeply integrating green and digital transformation solutions into the lives of its people.
| If asked to choose three words to encapsulate expectations for Vietnam's foreign policy after this series of important conferences, Professor Liu Ruonan would use the words "Inclusive", "Dynamic", and "Skillful". In the context of increasing competition among major powers, Vietnam continues to strive to maintain a balanced position. As an active and proactive member of ASEAN, with good traditional friendly relations with many countries worldwide, and its role as an emerging middle power, all these factors serve as important and inclusive diplomatic levers for Vietnam. The two concepts "Dynamic" and "Skillful" in fact complement each other. "Dynamic" reflects proactive and active participation in regional and global affairs, maintaining regular connections and interactions with all global partners. "Skillful" refers to consistently implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, resilience, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, multilateralizing and diversifying foreign relations as stated in the documents of the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. |
| Dr. Liu Ruonan is a Professor of International Relations, University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), China. She is a distinguished scholar specializing in East Asian international relations, International Security, and China’s foreign policy analysis. Her work has been widely published in leading journals, and she has held visiting research positions in the United States, Europe, and Australia. |
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