Introduction

A pall hung over the Vietnamese provincial capital of Lang Son on March 3, 1979. After days of fierce fighting, Chinese and Vietnamese bodies littered Highway One, the main road into the city. This chapter seeks to examine the issue of China's relations with its neighbors systematically. China's relations with its neighbors reached a nadir in February-March 1979, as global Cold War divisions combined with old Asian animosities. Northern Vietnam erupted in protests and riots in the Spring of 2014 directed against Chinese firms and individuals. Beginning in the early 1990s, China adopted a "Good Neighbor Policy". The concept of a neighbor is a shared piece of knowledge across multiple cultures and languages, frequently invoked. In modern times, the term "neighbor" is frequently recorded in the Xinhua News Agency. China has a good neighbor policy, but no neighborhood policy. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.