SINGAPORE -- Profound similarities bind China and Vietnam together today more than ever. Twelve years after their brief border war in 1979, Hanoi and Beijing normalized relations in 1991 after resolving the "Cambodian problem" at the Paris Peace Conference. This normalization of relations put to rest a historically tumultuous 1,000-year relationship of enmity, subjugation, "liberation" and ideological collaboration.
Now, not only is Vietnam's rapprochement with its northern neighbor complete, but Chinese influence seems to have taken root in Vietnam. Although history is never completely forgotten, pragmatism is the rule of the day, and Vietnam is keenly observing and studying China's economic and political reforms. Vietnam is China's sharpest disciple in Southeast Asia, and the Vietnamese elite freely refer to the "Chinese model."
Hanoi and Beijing share a "special relationship" in at least five areas: