Vietnamese Communist Party Chief Sends Secret Telegram to Trump: Vietnam Demands $10 Billion in Compensation from Xi Jinping

The General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nguyễn Phú Trọng, personally made a secret phone call to U.S. President Donald Trump, during which he stated: Vietnam is demanding $10 billion in war reparations from Xi Jinping for the Sino-Vietnamese War. (Illustration by Qing Yu / People News)

[People News] After witnessing the extremely grand welcome Xi Jinping received during his visit to Vietnam, Donald Trump became very displeased, suspecting that the two sides were conspiring against the United States.

Before Trump could voice all his concerns, Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng personally called Trump secretly and conveyed several key points:

1. Only the United States can maintain global peace and order; only a strong America can give Vietnam a greater sense of security. Therefore, Vietnam will strengthen cooperation with the U.S. and sign a mutually beneficial trade agreement.

2. Vietnam's relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is a "legacy relationship" left by the two parties. "Maintaining communication" is merely a strategy to avoid conflict with a neighbouring major power. Vietnam's future goal is to transition toward democratic constitutional governance. The Vietnamese Communist Party views "returning power to the people" as a sacred mission — a grand policy already outlined by former General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

3. The extravagant reception for Xi Jinping was entirely funded by the Chinese side.

Because the CCP is eager to woo Vietnam in order to jointly counter the United States, Nguyễn Phú Trọng took the opportunity to bring up the heavy sacrifices Vietnam suffered during China's 1979 invasion, as well as unresolved South China Sea issues, both of which are critically important to Vietnam. As part of this, China is investing $8.4 billion to build railways in Vietnam, with over half of that amount considered payment toward the war reparations (Vietnam is demanding $10 billion in total).

Trump was very pleased upon hearing this and expressed understanding of Vietnam's position, but emphasised that Vietnam must handle its strategic relationship with the U.S. properly. He stressed the need to prevent Chinese products from being exported to the global market, especially to the United States, through Vietnam. Trump said he hoped Vietnam and the U.S. would cooperate for a better future.

Trump also thanked Nguyễn Phú Trọng for providing this crucial piece of information: demanding war reparations from the CCP, calling it an outstanding move. He added that the U.S. would also seek compensation from Xi Jinping for the enormous damages caused by COVID-19, which cost the United States trillions of dollars.

Trump stated, "Xi Jinping should also make corresponding compensation to America. Our experts and officials from the relevant agencies will soon take action."

Trump noted that Xi Jinping is very wealthy, having amassed hundreds of billions of dollars in trade surpluses from the U.S. annually, and also holds a large amount of U.S. national debt, worsening America's financial situation. "All these accounts must be settled," he said.

Nguyễn Phú Trọng cautioned Trump that Vietnam's demand for war reparations must be kept absolutely secret — if made public, Xi Jinping would certainly deny it. Trump promised to "keep it confidential" and added that he liked Xi Jinping and believed Xi would be generous to America... After all, Xi’s people would soon come to the U.S. for negotiations. Without trade with the United States, Xi’s country would run out of U.S. dollars and go bankrupt.

The two leaders concluded the phone call in a friendly atmosphere.

[Appendix]: Vietnam Demands $10 Billion in Compensation from the CCP

Compensation Amount

Chatbot GROK: Assuming Vietnam seeks compensation, the amount could be based on the following factors:

• Loss of Life:
  Referencing modern war reparation cases (such as post-WWII settlements), compensation per death or injury might range from several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. Assuming Vietnam suffered 30,000 casualties, compensation might range from $100 million to $300 million (in 1979 U.S. dollars).

• Property Damage:
  Infrastructure and economic losses could amount to several hundred million dollars, depending on the extent of the destruction and reconstruction costs.

• Indirect Losses:
  Including economic disruptions, refugee resettlement, etc., could add several hundred million more.

Comprehensive Estimate: If Vietnam were to demand compensation, the total could be between $500 million to $2 billion (1979 dollars). Adjusted for inflation to 2025, this would be approximately $5 billion to $20 billion. (Thus, Vietnam's demand for $10 billion from the CCP is within a reasonable range.)

[Appendix II]: Trump Administration May Demand $1 Trillion in Compensation from the CCP

Updates on Potential Compensation

At the beginning of 2025, after the Trump administration returned to power, Trump publicly stated that "COVID-19 was a gift from China," causing $60 trillion in damages worldwide. He hinted that the U.S. "might seek compensation."

Some American politicians (such as Senator Tom Cotton) have called for "making China pay for the pandemic," suggesting measures such as freezing Chinese-owned assets in the U.S. (including more than $1 trillion worth of U.S. Treasury bonds) as a form of compensation.

To estimate the potential compensation amount, it’s necessary first to assess the human and economic losses COVID-19 caused in the U.S. Based on publicly available data, here’s the analysis:

• Loss of Life:
  According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), by 2023, more than 1.1 million Americans had died from COVID-19.
  Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that about 7 million people died due to COVID-19, with the U.S. accounting for roughly 15% of that figure.
  Indirect deaths (such as those caused by the collapse of healthcare systems or mental health crises) are hard to quantify but could further increase the total losses.

• Economic Losses:
  Direct economic impacts included the U.S. government's lockdowns, leading to the closure of over 160,000 businesses, 60% of which shut down permanently.
  Between 2020 and 2021, the U.S. economy suffered trillions of dollars in losses due to lockdowns and supply chain disruptions.
  The Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that the U.S. GDP fell by about 3.4% in 2020, a loss of roughly $700 billion.
  The U.S. government launched several multi-trillion-dollar stimulus packages, such as the CARES Act (approximately $2.2 trillion) and the American Rescue Plan (around $1.9 trillion), with total spending exceeding $6 trillion.

(Thus, the U.S. might demand $1 trillion in compensation from the CCP.)

(Excerpted from Wu Zuolai’s X post)