Peng Liyuan Hosts Ngo Phuong Ly in Beijing

Beijing, The Gulf Observer: Peng Liyuan, wife of Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China, extended a warm welcome to Ngo Phuong Ly, wife of To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President of Vietnam, in Beijing on Monday.

The meeting, marked by cordiality and a shared appreciation for cultural heritage, took place over tea. Peng Liyuan spoke highly of the long-standing cultural ties between China and Vietnam, noting that the two countries are not only friendly neighbors but also share deep-rooted bonds in literature, art, and cuisine.

To highlight this cultural intimacy, the Chinese side organized a series of performances for Ly, including a captivating Chinese opera, graceful traditional dances, and evocative folk music. These performances underscored the rich cultural heritage shared by the two nations.

Peng expressed her hope that China and Vietnam would continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, deepen mutual understanding, and further develop their friendship. She emphasized that the two countries, with over 1,000 years of historical connections, share similar cultural origins, geographic features, and values.

As socialist countries, China and Vietnam have enjoyed over seven decades of diplomatic relations, which were elevated to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in 2008. Since then, people-to-people and cultural exchanges have flourished, with Chinese TV dramas gaining immense popularity in Vietnam. Vietnamese television stations have increasingly scheduled these dramas during prime time, reflecting the cultural affinity between the two nations. Between 2000 and 2006, over 300 Chinese TV dramas were broadcast on national television channels in Vietnam, accounting for approximately 40 percent of all imported dramas. In 2020, a report by VnExpress noted that six of the top 10 most popular TV dramas in Vietnam were Chinese.

The growing popularity of Chinese TV dramas in Vietnam has spurred a demand for subtitle translation teams and sparked interest among young Vietnamese people in learning the Chinese language. Peng Liyuan, who places great importance on cultural and people-to-people exchanges, reiterated the significance of encouraging young people to learn each other’s languages and build lasting friendships.

During the talks, Peng recalled her visit to Vietnam last year, where she visited the Vietnam National University and encouraged students to learn Chinese to further promote cultural exchanges and the enduring friendship between China and Vietnam.

The past decade has seen a significant increase in people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. According to the China Scholarship Council, more than 23,000 Vietnamese students studied in China during the 2022-2023 academic year. In 2022, China pledged to offer over 1,000 Chinese Government Scholarships and more than 1,000 International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarships to Vietnam, aimed at training high-level talents and Chinese language teachers.

Tourism between the two nations has also seen substantial growth. Vietnam’s official data indicates that China was Vietnam’s largest source of tourists in May this year, with nearly 357,200 Chinese tourists visiting, a year-on-year increase of 143 percent. In the first five months of 2024, 1.6 million Chinese tourists visited Vietnam, accounting for 21 percent of the country’s total international tourists.

As the meeting concluded, Peng Liyuan expressed her confidence that the cultural and people-to-people ties between China and Vietnam would continue to flourish, fostering a deeper understanding and enduring friendship between the two nations.