The Vietnamese communities in China and Japan have celebrated the 81st National Day of Vietnam with a strong sense of pride in their homeland, while reaffirming their role as bridges of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and their host countries.
In Beijing, the Vietnamese Embassy in China held a ceremony on September 2, bringing together Vietnamese diplomats, businesses, students and community members, as well as Chinese officials, international diplomats and friends of Vietnam.
Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Thanh Binh highlighted Vietnam’s major achievements after more than eight decades of nation-building, particularly during more than 40 years of Doi Moi (Renewal), saying the country is entering a new development era with higher ambitions for 2030 and 2045.
He affirmed Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, peace, friendship, cooperation and development; diversification and multilateralisation of external relations; active, proactive, comprehensive and effective integration into the world; and being a friend, a trustworthy partner and an active, responsible member of the international community.
Within this policy, Vietnam considers consolidating and developing its traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership with China an objective requirement, a strategic choice and a top priority, the ambassador said.
The two countries have maintained positive momentum in their relations, with exchanges at all levels intensifying in 2026, notably General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam’s state visit to China in April.
At a meeting ahead of the ceremony, Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Cai Wei conveyed congratulations from the Chinese Party, State and people on Vietnam’s National Day and enormous achievements over the past 81 years.
He expressed confidence that under the strategic guidance and orientations set by the two countries' leaders, bilateral ties will continue to deepen and the building of a China–Vietnam community of shared future that carries strategic significance in the new period will record new and substantive strides, contributing to the socialist modernisation in each country, as well as peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.
For Vietnamese people living in China, the National Day celebration was also an opportunity to reconnect with their homeland.
Vu Hoang Thanh Loan, a Vietnamese living in Beijing, said each member of the Vietnamese community abroad can serve as a “cultural ambassador”, helping showcase Vietnam’s people and culture while connecting economic and technological resources with the homeland.
To Hong Hoai, who has lived in Beijing for nearly 30 years, said major national holidays are particularly meaningful to Vietnamese living far from home. She added that the Vietnamese community in China remains ready to contribute to the homeland and support the country in times of hardship and natural disasters.
Meanwhile, in Japan's Fukuoka, the Vietnamese Consulate General held a National Day ceremony attended by nearly 200 guests, including local government officials and representatives of Japanese agencies, diplomatic missions, friendship organisations, businesses and Vietnamese associations from across the Kyushu-Okinawa region.
Consul General Trinh Thi Mai Phuong highlighted Vietnam’s development achievements, its determination to advance institutional perfection and growth model reform, and the identification of science – technology, innovation, digital transformation and high-quality human resources as crucial development drivers.
She stressed that Vietnam always treasures the valuable support and assistance of international friends, including Japan, noting that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries is expanding in depth and substance.
Cooperation between Vietnam and the Kyushu-Okinawa region has also grown across trade, investment, science – technology, human resources development, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, Phuong added.
Leaders of Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Okinawa and Kumamoto hailed Vietnam's flourishing ties with each prefecture and the Kyushu-Okinawa region as a whole. They expressed their wish to further expand cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, contributing to the implementation of the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
They also pledged continued support for the Vietnamese community, enabling its members to live, study and work in Japan while making greater contributions to local development.
The Vietnamese communities in China and Japan are increasingly serving as important links between Vietnam and their host societies, contributing not only to stronger people-to-people ties but also to broader economic, cultural and technological collaboration.
The National Day celebrations thus served both as a tribute to Vietnam’s 81-year journey of development and as a reaffirmation of the shared commitment to deepening friendship, mutual understanding and sustainable cooperation between Vietnam and its international partners./.
