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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday held phone talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, expressed congratulations over the successful convening of the 14th National Congress of the CPV and To Lam's re-election as general secretary of the CPV Central Committee, according to Xinhua News Agency. 

Xi expressed his belief that under the leadership of the CPV Central Committee headed by To Lam, Vietnam will surely fulfill the goals and tasks set forth by the 14th National Congress and realize at an early date the two goals set for the centenary of the party and the country respectively.

He added that China and Vietnam should keep to their paths and not sway in their commitment, unite and cooperate to promote development, and work together towards a bright future. Both sides should strengthen the alignment of development strategies, deepen high-level mutually beneficial cooperation so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples and jointly advance towards socialist modernization, Xi said.

He also urged the two sides to strengthen coordination and collaboration in international and regional affairs, jointly oppose hegemonism and bloc confrontation, and work together to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, per Xinhua.

China's development has consistently provided inspiration and valuable experience for Vietnam's own development. Vietnam will firmly adhere to the one-China policy, continue to support the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the four global initiatives, said To Lam, Xinhua reported. 

Vietnam is willing to enhance political mutual trust with China, promote cooperation in diplomacy, national defense and public security, deepen practical cooperation across various fields, foster friendship between the two peoples, strengthen coordination amid a complex and evolving international landscape, advocate multilateralism, oppose protectionism, and work to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, To Lam noted.

Shared desire

The phone call reflects a shared desire from both China and Vietnam to further deepen their friendly relations against the backdrop of growing uncertainty in the international environment, Shen Shishun, director of the Department for Asia-Pacific Security and Cooperation at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

The call also underscored China's emphasis on neighborhood diplomacy. For China, Vietnam and other Asia-Pacific countries, regional stability is the foundation for shared prosperity. A stable China-Vietnam relationship therefore has a demonstrative effect for the wider region and helps jointly oppose trade protectionism and hegemonism, Shen said.

New year diplomacy

In the opening weeks of 2026, Xi's intensive bilateral and multilateral interactions spanning China's neighboring regions, Europe, North America and the Global South, have drawn widespread attention across the world.

On New Year's Eve, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged New Year greetings, according to Xinhua News Agency. 

On January 5, Xi held talks with President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Jae-myung, the first foreign head of state to visit China in 2026. On the same day, Xi met with Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin, whose visit to China marked the first by an Irish Taoiseach in 14 years, per Xinhua.

On January 16, Xi met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose visit to China was the first by a Canadian prime minister in eight years.

China's new year diplomacy also highlighted its firm solidarity with the Global South. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of launching diplomatic relations between China and African countries, Xi sent a congratulatory letter to the opening ceremony of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, per Xinhua. 

During a phone call with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on January 23, Xi noted that China is committed to always being a good friend and partner to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and to jointly advancing the building of the China-LAC community with a shared future.

Xi's new year diplomacy has strongly conveyed to the international community China's clear and consistent commitment to upholding openness, cooperation, and joint development amid a world beset by unilateralism, protectionism, and hegemonism, per Xinhua.

In December, when addressing a symposium on the international situation and China's foreign relations in 2025, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China has held high the banner of building a community with a shared future for humanity, followed the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, united progressive forces across the world with utmost sincerity, and built the momentum for peace and development with greatest efforts, Wang said.

Looking ahead, Wang said that its major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics should accomplish more in 2026.

He said that China will provide stronger strategic support for national development and rejuvenation, blaze new trails in forging a new type of major-country relations, work more actively to build a community with a shared future with neighboring countries, and foster greater synergy for the Global South's joint march toward modernization.

Strategic direction

Head-of-state diplomacy sits at the core of China's foreign policy, serving as the principal channel through which strategic direction is set. It provides a level of coordination and long-term guidance that other diplomatic mechanisms cannot easily replicate, shaping priorities and anchoring China's broader diplomatic agenda, said Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University.

China's recent robust diplomatic activities also drew attention from some foreign media outlets. CNBC published an article on Monday which said that "signaling changes afoot, several world leaders have visited China in January alone…" It also mentioned Carney's visit and the reported visit by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

These visits help increase business confidence in engaging with China, CNBC quoted Jacob Cooke, co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, as saying.

China's diplomatic approach, which rejects bloc confrontation and hegemony and emphasizes peace and stability, has found a receptive audience among a growing number of countries unsettled by what they see as increasingly risky moves by certain countries, said Li. 

Li argued that the recent visits to China by leaders from a range of countries reflect a broader shift in international sentiment. He added that as China continues to stress fairness, justice and shared development, majority of countries are willing to seek closer engagement with Beijing, framing their economic and diplomatic ties in terms of shared growth and interdependence.