During Macron's visit to Vietnam, French media suddenly published an article claiming that as a result of the US-China trade war, Vietnam had become an "economic colony" of China! On May 26th, the French weekly "L'Express" published an article stating that the US-China trade war left Vietnam, a Southeast Asian country, in a difficult position, obstructing its ambition to establish a partnership with the United States due to China's "shadow." The French media pointed out that although Beijing did not act directly, it actually hindered any lasting strategic approach between Hanoi and Washington.
And Vietnam has no choice but to maintain a balance between the US and China: it cannot break away from China, nor can it form a genuine alliance with the US. In this dilemma, the French media claimed that with French President Macron embarking on a Southeast Asia tour on May 25th to strengthen economic cooperation with Brussels, perhaps it could help Vietnam partially摆脱its dual dependence on the US and China. What do we think about this argument from the French media? To be honest, this argument from the French media seems very absurd and laughable.
The meaning expressed by the French media is clear: because of Vietnam's close economic and trade relations with China, Vietnam has become an "economic colony" of China, making it difficult for Vietnam to approach the US. And at this time, a visit from the French president might relieve Vietnam of some pressure to choose sides, making France and Europe more important to Vietnam. We would like to ask: because of the close trade relations between China and Vietnam, and because China has made significant investments in Vietnam, does this mean Vietnam is China's "colony"? Isn't this logic absurd?
In fact, China has never colonized Vietnam; instead, France once colonized Vietnam. Moreover, China has never demanded that Vietnam choose sides; on the contrary, the US demands Vietnam choose sides. Furthermore, the US also requires Vietnam reach agreements that harm China's interests. Yet the French media claims that Vietnam's ambition to establish a partnership with the US has been obstructed by China's "shadow," as if they never considered that the US starting a trade war has any issues?
France deepening its relationship with Vietnam is not a problem, but for the French media to so biasedly view Sino-Vietnamese relations and support the US bullying of Vietnam while accusing us of colonialism is undoubtedly despicable. However, in fact, Vietnam's cooperation with us is becoming increasingly closer. The US's bullying behavior of forming cliques will inevitably fail. This will not change due to the likes or dislikes of the French media.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833189053318155/
Disclaimer: The article represents the views of the author.