The article describes the main parameters of Vietnam-China relations at the present stage. On the one hand, economic relations between these neighboring countries are developing dynamically, and, on the other, territorial disputes in the South China Sea have led Beijing and Hanoi to balancing on the brink of hostilities and to actively seeking allies. Currently, Beijing is winning economic cooperation with Hanoi, but so far it is clearly politically losing to Washington in pulling Hanoi to its side in the current geopolitical situation. Vietnam skillfully uses the current situation in its interests, increasing economic cooperation with both Beijing and Washington, to accelerate the modernization of its economy