Peng Liyuan, wife of general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping, warmly welcomed Ngo Phuong Ly, wife of general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese President To Lam, in Beijing on Monday.

During their talks over tea, Peng spoke highly of China-Vietnam cultural ties, saying China and Vietnam are friendly neighbors and share bonds in literature, art and cuisine. The Chinese side arranged a series of performances for Ly to demonstrate their cultural intimacy, including an enchanting Chinese opera, graceful dancing and folk music.

Peng expressed hope that the two countries can strengthen exchanges and cooperation, deepen mutual understanding, and promote the development of friendship.

China and Vietnam share very similar cultures. The countries have over 1,000 years of history linkage including similar origins of cultures, geographic features, norms and values as well as heritage.

As socialist countries, the two states have shared over seven decades of friendly diplomatic relations. They elevated bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in 2008, and since then, people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries have increased.

Cultural proximity fosters closer people-to-people exchanges

Chinese TV dramas, for example, have gained immense popularity among Vietnamese viewers in recent years due to cultural proximity. Many Chinese dramas have been scheduled in the “golden hours” by Vietnamese TV stations and a lot of Vietnamese people can effortlessly mention several Chinese TV dramas or characters.

Between 2000 and 2006, over 300 Chinese TV dramas were broadcast on the national television channels in Vietnam, accounting for approximately 40 percent of the total imported dramas. In 2020, VnExpress, a Vietnamese media outlet, reported that Chinese TV series made up six of the top 10 most popular TV dramas in Vietnam.

The popularity of Chinese TV dramas in Vietnam has led to an increase in Vietnamese teams specializing in subtitle translation, as well as a growing interest in learning Chinese language among young Vietnamese people.

Peng has attached great importance to cultural and people-to-people exchanges. During Monday’s talks, Peng said China and Vietnam should strengthen exchanges and mutual learning. She stressed the importance of encouraging young people to learn each other’s languages and enhance friendship.

She made similar remarks during her visit to Vietnam last year. At the time, she visited the Vietnam National University where she encouraged students to learn Chinese and experience China to promote cultural exchanges and pass down the China-Vietnam friendship.

The people-to-people exchanges between China and Vietnam have increased significantly in the last decade. Data from the China Scholarship Council shows that more than 23,000 Vietnamese students studied in China in the academic year 2022-2023.

China also promised in 2022 to offer Vietnam over 1,000 Chinese Government Scholarships and more than 1,000 International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarships, helping Vietnam train high-level talents and Chinese language teachers.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Vietnam has also been steadily rising.

Vietnam’s official data shows that China was once again Vietnam’s largest tourist source in May this year, receiving nearly 357,200 tourists, a year-on-year increase of 143 percent. In the first five months of this year, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Vietnam totaled 1.6 million, accounting for 21 percent of Vietnam’s total international tourists.

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