The 16 Word Guideline, or the 16-letter Principle (Chinese: 十六字方针; Vietnamese: Phương châm 16 chữ) is a set of diplomatic principles acknowledged between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1999 as the two countries sought to improve their strained relations after the Cambodian-Vietnamese War and the subsequent Sino-Vietnamese War.

These principles, said to be "guiding the development of bilateral relations in the new century", were jointly set by the highest leaders from both countries' ruling communist parties: Lê Khả Phiêu, Vietnamese Communist Party's general secretary and Jiang Zemin, Chinese Communist Party's general secretary.[1][2][3]

Contents

The contents of the "16 words" are disputed among various sources. However, there are two distinct versions of this informal guideline that are widely known: a Chinese version and a Vietnamese version.

The Chinese version, often cited by high-ranking Chinese officials in many official visits between the two countries and is believed to be the original version proposed by the Chinese prior to the 1999 meeting, is as follows:[4][5][6]

Chinese Sino-Vietnamese English
山水相連 Sơn thủy tương liên, Our borders interlinked,
理想相通 Lý tưởng tương thông, Ideals interconnected,
文化相同 Văn hóa tương đồng, Cultures interwoven,
運命相關 Vận mệnh tương quan. And our fates intertwined.

The Vietnamese version, said to be the adaptation of the aforementioned version and commonly cited in Vietnamese state-run media during high-level visits between Vietnam and China, is as follows:[7][8][9][10][11]

Vietnamese Chinese Sino-Vietnamese English
Láng giềng hữu nghị, 睦邻友好 Mục lân hữu hảo, Friendly neighbourliness,
Hợp tác toàn diện, 全面合作 Toàn diện hợp tác, Comprehensive cooperation,
Ổn định lâu dài, 长期稳定 Trường kỳ ổn định, Long-term stability,
Hướng tới tương lai. 面向未来 Diện hướng vị lai. Future-oriented thinking.

Controversies

The 16 Word Guideline is often the subject of controversies and public discourse in Vietnam, especially during important diplomatic events between Vietnam and China.[12][13] Government critics view the principle, among other agreements with China during the normalization of relations between the two countries, as a concession to China. This view is said to stem from anti-communist sentiments as well as deep-rooted wariness since the people of Vietnam has been at constant war with China for millennia and because of territorial disputes regarding Paracel and Spratly.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Lai, Christina (2020-05-03). "A Coercive Brotherhood: Sino-Vietnamese Relations from the 1990s to 2018". Journal of Contemporary China. 29 (123): 469–486. doi:10.1080/10670564.2019.1645484. ISSN 1067-0564.
  2. ↑ "QUAN HỆ CHÍNH TRỊ GIỮA VIỆT NAM – TRUNG QUỐC TỪ SAU BÌNH THƯỜNG HÓA QUAN HỆ ĐẾN NAY - Viện Nghiên Cứu Đông Bắc Á". www.inas.gov.vn. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  3. ↑ "General Secretary Jiang Zemin Met with Former General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee Le Kha Phieu". www.fmprc.gov.cn. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  4. ↑ "习近平会见越南人民军总政治局主任吴春历一行". www.gov.cn. 16 Sep 2011. Archived from the original on 12 Dec 2023. Retrieved 12 Dec 2023.
  5. ↑ "越中青年儒家文化交流活动在河内举行". vn.china-embassy.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 12 Dec 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  6. ↑ "大國外交最前線丨「就像到親戚和鄰居家串門一樣」 習近平抵達越南首都河內". 香港文匯網 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  7. ↑ "Phương châm "16 chữ" và tinh thần "4 tốt" trong quan hệ Việt Nam-Trung Quốc là gì?". special.nhandan.vn. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  8. ↑ Thanh, Quang (2022-11-01). "Tuyên bố chung Việt Nam - Trung Quốc: Kiên trì phương châm "láng giềng hữu nghị, hợp tác toàn diện, ổn định lâu dài, hướng tới tương lai"". Nhịp sống kinh tế Việt Nam & Thế giới (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  9. ↑ "Thúc đẩy quan hệ láng giềng hữu nghị, hợp tác toàn diện Việt Nam - Trung Quốc". dangcongsan.vn. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  10. ↑ "Vietnam-China Joint Statement". Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United States. 2 December 2001. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  11. ↑ "Phương châm 16 chữ chỉ đạo phát triển toàn diện quan hệ Trung Việt - Đài phát thanh quốc tế Trung Quốc". vietnamese.cri.cn. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  12. ↑ "2023 – năm của 'vận mệnh tương quan'?". Voice of America (in Vietnamese). 2023-01-21. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  13. ↑ "Trung-Việt: Tương đồng và tương quan?". BBC News Tiếng Việt (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2023-12-12.
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