Throughout history, cross-cultural relations have occupied a significant place in the lives of various civilizations and societies. These interactions constructed the cultural and political patterns that have shaped the course of history. In general, China, one of the world's oldest civilizations, has had significant cultural, political, and economic influences on Southeast Asia's ancient kingdoms and modern states throughout the centuries. Even today, socio-political, economic, and cultural interactions continue to shape and develop modern relations between these countries. Vietnam is a country in the southern portion of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia, had extremely complex relations with its neighbors. Geographical proximity, shared beliefs, and social values, as well as China's dominant position in the region, have been the key factors affecting and determining the dynamics between these two states for centuries. The article aims to examine the two thousand years of historical processes and bilateral relations between China and Vietnam within the context of the developments of each historical period, which illustrate unique fundamental features of society, culture, politics, and ideas, as well as the contradictions and the significant factors that have had an impact on Sino-Viet relations over time. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam has been the country with the most potent political and cultural ties with China for centuries: thus, through various economic, cultural, and military tools, China has exerted a massive impact on Vietnam. Meanwhile, bilateral relations sometimes developed due to the forced imposition of China's ruling dynasties and sometimes due to mutual cultural and economic activities. However, Vietnam is widely considered the primary part of the East Asian cultural sphere, together with Korea, Japan, and Greater China. Thus, it is necessary to thoroughly comprehend China's ancient history for understanding Vietnam's history.

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