16 Word Guideline

The 16 Word Guideline, or the 16-letter Principle (zh 十六字方针; vi 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.Lai Christina 2020-05-03 A Coercive Brotherhood: Sino-Vietnamese Relations from the 1990s to 2018 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10670564.2019.1645484 Journal of Contemporary China en 29 123 469–486 10.1080/10670564.2019.1645484 1067-0564 subscription QUAN HỆ CHÍNH TRỊ GIỮA VIỆT NAM – TRUNG QUỐC TỪ SAU BÌNH THƯỜNG HÓA QUAN HỆ ĐẾN NAY - Viện Nghiên Cứu Đông Bắc Á http://www.inas.gov.vn/339-quan-he-chinh-tri-giua-viet-nam-trung-quoc-tu-sau-binh-thuong-hoa-quan-he-den-nay.html 2023-12-12 www.inas.gov.vnGeneral Secretary Jiang Zemin Met with Former General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee Le Kha Phieu https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/gjhdq_665435/2675_665437/2792_663578/2794_663582/200203/t20020304_525121.html 2023-12-12 www.fmprc.gov.cn 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:16 Sep 2011 习近平会见越南人民军总政治局主任吴春历一行 https://www.gov.cn/ldhd/2011-09/16/content_1949491.htm live https://web.archive.org/web/20231212211041/https://www.gov.cn/ldhd/2011-09/16/content_1949491.htm 12 Dec 2023 12 Dec 2023 www.gov.cn越中青年儒家文化交流活动在河内举行 http://vn.china-embassy.gov.cn/sgxw/201903/t20190326_1703191.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20231212212107/http://vn.china-embassy.gov.cn/sgxw/201903/t20190326_1703191.htm 12 Dec 2023 2023-12-12 vn.china-embassy.gov.cn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 https://www.wenweipo.com/a/202312/12/AP65783f81e4b0fdf828a9fb2e.html 2023-12-12 香港文匯網 zh-Hans-HK ChineseSino-VietnameseEnglish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:Phương châm "16 chữ" và tinh thần "4 tốt" trong quan hệ Việt Nam-Trung Quốc là gì? https://special.nhandan.vn/quanhe_viettrung/index.html 2023-12-12 special.nhandan.vn enThanh 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" https://vneconomy.vn/tuyen-bo-chung-viet-nam-trung-quoc-kien-tri-phuong-cham-lang-gieng-huu-nghi-hop-tac-toan-dien-on-dinh-lau-dai-huong-toi-tuong-lai.htm 2023-12-12 Nhịp sống kinh tế Việt Nam & Thế giới viThúc đẩy quan hệ láng giềng hữu nghị, hợp tác toàn diện Việt Nam - Trung Quốc https://dangcongsan.vn/tieu-diem/thuc-day-quan-he-lang-gieng-huu-nghi-hop-tac-toan-dien-viet-nam-trung-quoc-646706.html 2023-12-12 dangcongsan.vn en-US2 December 2001 Vietnam-China Joint Statement https://vietnamembassy-usa.org/relations/vietnam-china-joint-statement 2023-12-12 Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United StatesPhương châm 16 chữ chỉ đạo phát triển toàn diện quan hệ Trung Việt - Đài phát thanh quốc tế Trung Quốc http://vietnamese.cri.cn/721/2010/01/14/1s135231.htm 2023-12-12 vietnamese.cri.cn +VietnameseChineseSino-VietnameseEnglishLáng 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.2023-01-21 2023 – năm của ‘vận mệnh tương quan’? https://www.voatiengviet.com/a/nam-cua-van-menh-tuong-quan-/6927045.html 2023-12-12 Voice of America viTrung-Việt: Tương đồng và tương quan? vi BBC News Tiếng Việt https://www.bbc.com/vietnamese/vietnam-39803658 2023-12-12 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. See also China–Vietnam relations Territorial disputes in the South China Sea References Category:China–Vietnam relations