'Vietnam-China Friendship Journey' highlights exchanges, fosters the future

The "Vietnam-China Friendship Journey" exchange program at Sun Yat-sen University on December 28, 2025. (Photo: Viet Linh)

The event is part of the "Vietnam-China Friendship Journey" with the participation of representatives from leading Vietnamese media agencies and scholars from top institutions in social sciences and humanities.

With the connection of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Guangzhou (China), the "red journey" following President Ho Chi Minh's footsteps in the Guangxi-Guangdong region contributes to opening a new phase in media, communication, and educational cooperation between the two countries.

The journey holds special significance as it takes place at the close of 2025, marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and also the Vietnam-China Year of Humanistic Exchange.

The participants of the exchange program were representatives from the Guangdong Information Department; Lin Qingjian, Director of the Foreign Affairs Television Center, Guangdong Radio and Television; Vietnamese Consul General in Guangzhou Nguyen Viet Dung, members of the "Vietnam-China Friendship Journey," along with numerous researchers and students from Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and other universities in Guangdong Province.

Vietnamese Consul General in Guangzhou Nguyen Viet Dung. (Photo: Viet Linh)

The "People's Ambassadors"

Speaking at the event, Consul General Nguyen Viet Dung emphasized the special relationship of "neighbours sharing one strip of mountains and rivers, sharing many cultural and historical values" between Vietnam and China. On this basis, the people of the two countries have maintained a close bond for thousands of years. History has shown that when the people of both countries agree, a higher level of social trust and foundation will facilitate more substantive and profound cooperation in other areas.

Therefore, through the exchange activities and experiences in the "Vietnam-China Friendship Journey," the Consul General hopes that journalists and scholars from both countries will play a bridging role, continuing to strengthen and nurture the traditional friendship between the people of Vietnam and China in general, and between the people of Vietnam and Guangdong province in particular.

Through the news, articles, and reports produced during this journey, Vietnamese and Chinese journalists and scholars will become "ambassadors" helping the people of our two countries understand each other better, trust each other more, and cherish each other more.

As part of the "Vietnam-China Friendship Journey," journalists from both countries had the opportunity to visit historical sites associated with the revolutionary activities of President Ho Chi Minh and senior Vietnamese revolutionaries in China. They heard moving stories about the heroic historical period of "shoulder to shoulder" in the revolutionary struggle of the leaders of both sides. Additionally, Vietnamese journalists had the chance to witness China's strong development and successful lessons in Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Guangzhou.

The Consul General shared that during the exchange, Vietnamese journalists could also share and introduce to their Chinese counterparts about Vietnam's land and people, with aspirations to rise in the new era, a spirit of innovation, creativity, and daring to think and do to realize the aspiration of building a "more dignified and beautiful" Vietnam, "standing shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the five continents," as President Ho Chi Minh once wished. Currently, Vietnam is actively preparing to organize the 14th Party Congress, a significant political event with decisive implications for the country's future development in the new era, the era of national advancement.

Through the news, articles, and reports produced during this journey, Vietnamese and Chinese journalists and scholars will become "ambassadors" helping the people of our two countries understand each other better, trust each other more, and cherish each other more. (Photo: Viet Linh)

With the connection of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Guangzhou, the "red journey" following President Ho Chi Minh's footsteps in the Guangxi-Guangdong region contributes to opening a new phase in media, communication, and educational cooperation between the two sides. (Photo: Viet Linh)

"Sowing seeds of friendship"

Sharing at the event, Huang Yan, Deputy Head of the Communication Department of the Party Committee of Sun Yat-sen University, highlighted the close relationship between Sun Yat-sen University and Vietnam. Over a century ago, President Ho Chi Minh brought eight Vietnamese teenagers to study at the Secondary and Primary School of Guangdong University, the predecessor of Sun Yat-sen University. This "sowing seeds of friendship" story remains a shared memory cherished by both sides.

Since the 1950s, Sun Yat-sen University has begun accepting Vietnamese students, training many generations of outstanding talents for Vietnam, fluent in both languages and deeply understanding each other's cultures. Today, they are becoming a core force in promoting Vietnam-China friendship exchanges.

Huang Yan, Deputy Head of the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Sun Yat-sen University. (Photo: Viet Linh)

According to Huang Yan, cultural exchange is a fundamental way to enhance trust and build consensus. In the future, Sun Yat-sen University is ready to deepen cooperation with Vietnamese universities and research institutes, while coordinating with major domestic media agencies and partner universities to expand cooperation in areas such as academic research, joint human resource training, and youth exchanges.

"Those present today are witnesses, storytellers, and promoters of China-Vietnam friendship. You use lenses to capture authenticity, pens to convey sincerity, and minds to spark creativity. These efforts are crucial in building a strategically meaningful Community of Shared Future between the two countries," Huang Yan emphasized.

Mr. Feng Yongfu, Senior researcher, Southeast Asia Center, Sun Yat-sen University. (Photo: Viet Linh)

Once one of the first students at Peking University to study Vietnamese in 1962, Mr. Feng Yongfu, a senior researcher at the Southeast Asia Center, Sun Yat-sen University, shared in Vietnamese his special affection for the S-shaped country in general and President Ho Chi Minh in particular.

He shared that he spends over an hour daily reading Vietnamese news and expressed his admiration for the speeches of General Secretary To Lam and Vietnam's aspirations for development in the new era.

"In 1994, when I first visited Vietnam, it was still very poor and undeveloped, but now Vietnam has rapidly developed into a middle-income country in the world. I greatly admire Vietnam's spirit of innovation and development," Feng Yongfu said.

Dr. Truong Thi Bich Hanh, Vice Principal of the High School for Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi is presenting a paper. (Photo: Minh Duc)

Accompanying towards the future

At the meeting, Dr. Truong Thi Bich Hanh, Vice Principal of the High School for Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, shared a paper on the development of Vietnam-China cultural exchanges from a historical perspective.

Dr. Truong Thi Bich Hanh recalled the early 20th century when both nations, "sharing language, race, and challenges," faced unprecedented challenges and sought ways to save their countries.

The Vietnamese scholar emphasized the support and assistance from revolutionary activists of both countries, notably Comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc (later President Ho Chi Minh), who engaged in revolutionary activities in China and prepared for Vietnam's national liberation journey from there, while on the Chinese side, Comrade Sun Yat-sen visited Vietnam to mobilize support among overseas Chinese and cooperated with Vietnamese patriots.

Based on the three "shared" aspects between the two countries in the past, Dr. Truong Thi Bich Hanh believes that now the two countries have an additional "shared" aspect, which is "accompanying," contributing to building a strategically meaningful Community of Shared Future.

Journalist Nguyen Hoai Dam, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of VTV. (Photo: Minh Duc)

Spreading the spirit of "accompanying," representative of the Vietnamese media delegation, journalist Nguyen Hoai Dam, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union at Vietnam Television (VTV), shared that through the journey of real experiences at Friendship Pass, Pingxiang, Longzhou, Nanning, Dongguan, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, the delegation members deeply felt the foundation of Vietnam-China friendship, laid by President Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao Zedong, and persistently nurtured by generations of leaders and people of both countries over the years.

From these practical experiences, journalist Nguyen Hoai Dam hopes that in the future, media cooperation between Vietnam and China will continue to be strengthened through journalist exchanges, joint content production, and experience sharing. Additionally, expanding academic, student, and young journalist exchanges and maintaining practical exchange journeys like the "Vietnam-China Friendship Journey" will further deepen cultural exchanges between the two countries.

"With the responsibility and affection of journalists and media professionals from both countries, we cherish what we have experienced on this journey, transforming these trips, meetings, and stories witnessed into authentic, humane, and profound journalistic and media products. We believe that each article, each frame, each video made with understanding and goodwill will be a small bridge, contributing to enhancing trust and friendship between the people of the two countries," journalist Nguyen Hoai Dam emphasized.

Representatives from Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and Guangdong Radio and Television presented the Vietnamese media delegation with several Vietnamese literature and history books translated into Chinese. (Photo: Minh Duc)

On this occasion, representatives from Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and Guangdong Radio and Television presented the Vietnamese media delegation with several Vietnamese literature and history books translated into Chinese.

Delegates taking commemorative photos. (Photo: Minh Duc)

The event holds special significance as it takes place at the close of 2025, marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the Vietnam-China Year of Cultural Exchange. (Photo: Viet Linh)