Vietnam’s Strategic Engagement with China and the United States: Fusion of Neoliberal and Constructivist Approaches

The upgrade of the Vietnam–US relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2023 has sparked discussions about whether this milestone addresses Vietnam’s ‘China threat’ as a power-balancing act or represents an evolution of bilateral relations. This article argues that while the elevation of the partnership considers the evolving regional geopolitical dynamics in the context of the Sino-US rivalry in the Indo-Pacific, Vietnam has embraced neither classic realism nor neo-realism. Rather, the country’s consistent diplomacy has been informed by neoliberal and constructivist approaches, with the latter being the predominant. Vietnam’s great power policy choices embrace neoliberal principles, which involve a focus on economic interdependence, collaboration on such critical issues as the South China Sea and regime security, and the strategic leverage of multilateral institutions to further national interests. Whereas the country has pursued the constructivist perspective in its engagement with great powers through preserving its foreign policy identity, significantly shaped by historical experiences and aspirations for sovereignty, independence and strategic autonomy. This approach also involves a tactical soft balancing strategy and the application of ‘Vietnamese bamboo diplomacy’ in its interactions with the two powers. These two approaches are not separate but rather intertwined and mutually reinforcing.