Policy & RegulationAnalysis

China and Vietnam Women's Federation Heads Meet in Beijing to Deepen Ties

State Councilor Shen Yiqin met with Vietnamese counterpart Le Thi Thuy to expand bilateral cooperation on women's affairs.

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Group of women football players posing on a field in Hanoi, Vietnam, showcasing team spirit.
Photo by ANH LÊ on Pexels

The Brief

Chinese State Councilor and All-China Women's Federation President Shen Yiqin met with Le Thi Thuy, President of the Vietnam Women's Union, in Beijing on September 17. The two sides discussed carrying out high-level consensus reached by party leaders Xi Jinping and To Lam. Shen emphasized deepening exchanges in women's development to support the broader bilateral initiative of building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, while Le commended China's progress and pledged greater mutual learning between the two nations' mass organizations.

Why it matters

The interaction illustrates how Beijing leverages mass organizations alongside party-to-party and state diplomacy. Incorporating women's development and gender-related diplomacy into the broader framework of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future highlights Beijing's intention to strengthen people-to-people and institutional ties across every level of governance.

China context

In China's political apparatus, the All-China Women's Federation operates as a primary state-sanctioned mass organization tasked with implementing party policy on family, gender, and social welfare, as well as conducting people-to-people diplomacy abroad. Citing the spirit of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment reflects China's ongoing efforts to project leadership in international women's development and multilateral forums.

Editor's View

EDITOR'S VIEW — Analysis and inference, not factual reporting. While official statements from the meeting emphasized general alignment and mutual goodwill, mass organization diplomacy provides a low-friction channel to consolidate cross-border party links. The substantive impact will depend on whether this dialogue produces concrete institutional mechanisms, such as joint vocational initiatives, border-region women's exchanges, or coordinated policy representations in multilateral women's forums.

What to watch

  • Whether the two federations announce formalized exchange mechanisms or regular border-region exchange programs.
  • Follow-up cultural or social initiatives linking Vietnamese and Chinese mass organizations.
  • Bilateral coordination during upcoming regional or United Nations forums on women's development.

Key Takeaways

  • 1State Councilor Shen Yiqin met Vietnamese Women's Union President Le Thi Thuy in Beijing on September 17.
  • 2Discussions focused on implementing consensus reached between top leaders Xi Jinping and To Lam.
  • 3Shen called for deepening bilateral women's cooperation under the framework of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future.
  • 4Le commended China's domestic progress on women's affairs and supported expanded mutual learning.
Chinese State Councilor and All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) President Shen Yiqin met with Le Thi Thuy, President of the Vietnam Women's Union, in Beijing on September 17, state media reported. Le also serves as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Vice President of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. During the meeting, Shen underscored that relations between China and Vietnam continue to maintain positive development momentum under the strategic guidance of Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President, and To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese President. According to official Chinese reports, Shen stated that Beijing is prepared to work alongside Hanoi to fully implement the important consensus reached by the top leadership of both parties and nations. She called for carrying forward the spirit of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, deepening exchanges and practical cooperation in the field of women's affairs, and advancing the substantive construction of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future. In response, Le commended China's recent progress in women's development and social participation. She expressed Vietnam's willingness to strengthen mutual learning and bilateral exchanges between their respective women's organizations, noting that such cooperation serves to foster the overall development of Vietnam-China relations. The exchange reflects a continued emphasis on people-to-people and mass organization channels within bilateral ties. In both political systems, national women's federations hold statutory status under party leadership, serving as key conduits for social mobilization and cross-border public diplomacy.

Sources

  1. 谌贻琴会见越南妇联主席黎氏水--时政--人民网 People's Daily · 9/17/2026
  2. 谌贻琴会见越南妇联主席黎氏水 State Council of China · 9/17/2026