Hanoi, 24 July 2025 — Thanks to the introduction of a prominent Chinese entrepreneur, the Association behind Vietnam’s new creative-economy push met an eyewitness to one of the most symbolic visits in modern Asian diplomacy: Premier Zhou Enlai’s 1956 mission to Hanoi.
The guest, now in his late eighties, served as Zhou’s interpreter and appears as the youngest face in the famous photograph that captures President Hồ Chí Minh, Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng and the Chinese premier standing shoulder to shoulder.
“Mối tình thắm thiết Việt – Hoa
Vừa là đồng chí, vừa là anh em
A bond profound between Viet and Hua:
Comrades at heart, yet brothers by law.”
Quoting those lines from Hồ Chí Minh, the interpreter told Association members that the poem embodied an era when political solidarity and personal trust moved in lock-step. His anecdotes — from late-night translation sessions to improvised tea-table diplomacy — offered a first-hand lens on how cultural understanding sharpened strategic alignment.
Why it matters
- People-to-people capital. The Association views such living testimony as intangible cultural capital that can animate today’s content creators and help frame authentic Vietnam–China stories for global audiences.
- Historical IP. Archival photos, diaries and oral histories surrounding the 1956 visit are now being assessed as potential intellectual-property assets for documentaries, immersive exhibitions and educational media.
- Bridge for new business. The Chinese entrepreneur who brokered the meeting is also broaching cross-border investment in animation and gaming studios — practical extensions of the “Mind in Vietnam” initiative announced earlier this week.
“Understanding the spirit behind that poem is critical,” an Association spokesperson said. “It reminds us that creativity rooted in shared history can scale far beyond nostalgia; it can become a premium export in its own right.”
The Association plans to digitise the interpreter’s recollections and partner with historians to curate a mini-series on early Vietnam–China diplomatic ties, scheduled to stream next spring.