Research On Vietnam’s Hedging Strategy Against China

As a neighbor of China and an important member of ASEAN,Vietnam’s China strategy has an important impact on China’s peripheral security.A stable and harmonious surrounding environment is very important for China,which is in a critical period of development.By analyzing Vietnam’s hedging strategy against China and exploring the motivation behind it,we can better explore Vietnam’s foreign policy and analyze its future policy trend,so as to provide a useful reference for the healthy development of China Vietnam relations and the peaceful settlement of the South China Sea issue.From the perspective of hedging,this thesis explores Vietnam’s strategy towards China with the neoclassical realism theory.Vietnam has adopted different policy tools to China in different fields such as politics,economy and security in order to maximize its own interests and minimize risks.Hedging strategy is different from following strategy and balance strategy,but uses its flexible policy tools to avoid choosing sides between China and the United States.Vietnam is full of contradictions about China’s rise.On the one hand,taking advantage of its low labor force,Vietnam undertakes a large number of industrial transfers from China and takes a ride on China’s economic development;On the other hand,due to the South China Sea dispute,Vietnam is full of worries and fears about the growth of China’s maritime power.Therefore,Vietnam comprehensively uses the strategic combination of economic pragmatism,economic diversification,restrictive contact and indirect checks and balances to implement the hedging strategy against China.It has not only promoted its own economic development,but also maintained a close relationship with China;At the same time,on the South China Sea issue,the intervention of the United States,Japan and ASEAN indirectly checked and balanced China’s maritime power and safeguarded national interests.Vietnam is at the forefront of the competition between China,the United States,India and the Pacific,and its every move will affect the nerves of China and the United States.The system pressure caused by the fierce competition between China and the United States in the Indian Pacific region is an important external factor for Vietnam to implement the hedging strategy.When the competition between China and the United States is controllable,Vietnam can continue to maintain independence and avoid choosing sides between China and the United States.In addition,Vietnam’s national strength is also an important restrictive factor affecting its strategy towards China.The interests of the South China Sea are crucial to Vietnam’s development.Therefore,Vietnam strives to enhance its own hard power,introduce the strength of the United States,Japan and ASEAN,and hedge against China.Vietnam’s domestic perception of China’s threat is affected by history and reality.Officials and people are pessimistic about China.They believe that a stronger China will seek regional hegemony and Vietnam’s interests in the South China Sea will be recovered by China.Therefore,they regard China as a threat.Vietnam’s hedging strategy against China has promoted the development of domestic economy and the enhancement of national strength in the short term.At the same time,it has successfully introduced extraterritorial forces such as the United States and Japan into the South China Sea.However,as a neighbor that Vietnam cannot move away from,Vietnam can maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and realize the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations only by correctly handling its relations with China.