The bounties and blessings of Chinese friendship as bestowed on Vietnam by President Xi during his visit to Hanoi this week hardly matched the good-will inspired by President Biden as he won hearts and minds when he was there in September.

That’s the impression of Vietnamese watching the signing Wednesday by Mr. Xi and the general secretary of Vietnam’s Workers Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, of 36 “documents for cooperation,” ranging from diplomacy to telecommunications to rail links, 48 years after the victory of “North” over “South” Vietnam.

From start to finish, Mr. Xi’s two-day foray into the capital of a dubious ally inspired skepticism if not cynicism among Vietnamese glued to the state-controlled TV news. “There was nobody watching,” said one Vietnamese, looking at shots of Mr. Xi’s limo making its way from the airport into central Hanoi.

First, President Trump, when he went to Hanoi for his second summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in February 2019, and then Mr. Biden in September aroused curiosity bordering on adulation.

“People lined up to see them,” said the Vietnamese, whose remarks were relayed to the Sun by a long-time Australian observer of Vietnam, Carl Robinson. There was “curiosity, certainly,” said Mr. Robinson, who visits Vietnam frequently, most recently a month ago, “but for the Vietnamese, the U.S. represents freedom. China means nothing.”

You wouldn’t know what people are really thinking as Vietnam’s state-controlled media rhapsodize over the mass signing of agreements that are not likely to deliver as much as promised.

Mr. Trong “stressed that Xi’s third visit to Vietnam” — his first in six years — “happened as Vietnam and China commemorate their 15th anniversary for establishing their comprehensive strategic partnership showing Xi’s special affection for the two countries’ friendly tradition,” said the Vietnam News Agency.” Mr. Xi’s visit,  Mr. Trong said, “would be a new hallmark” in “the  common interests of both countries.”

As far as Mr. Robinson could tell from talking to Vietnamese, however, “Public feeling is very cynical.” After all, “They’ve seen all this before,” he said. The Hanoi regime “is hardly popular with the Vietnamese people, and they can see right through what’s happening.”

 In fact, Mr. Robinson believes, “Much of Vietnam’s rampant corruption is driven by Chinese investment, and it’s an all-too-cozy relationship with the elite. “

Long before Mr. Xi’s visit, Vietnam and China were at odds not only on details of their agreement but on overall outlook.

“Initially, 45 deals were proposed but eight — tied to critical and rare materials — went unsigned,” said the German broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, reporting from Hanoi. “The visit comes as China and the U.S. vie for primacy in the region.”

For months, “China and Vietnam debated the true meaning of the phrase ‘shared future,’” said Deutsche Welle, “the Chinese tending toward their translation ‘common destiny” and the Vietnamese preferring the more open idea of a ’common future.’”

Having finally settled on a “community with a shared future,” according to Deutsche Welle, Mr. Xi failed to get the deal he wanted on excavating rare earths needed for electronics products. Vietnam ranks after China as the world’s second greatest source of rare earth.

While agreeing on rail links and manufacture in Vietnam of Chinese products, the two sides waffled on China’s claims to the South China Sea, including drilling for oil and natural gas. They avoided that hyper-sensitive controversy by deciding on “joint patrols” in those troubled waters.

 “That’s the major irritant in bilateral relations,” said a long-time consultant and professor in Australia, Carlyle Thayer. “There’s nothing that’s been done to make it better.”

The great reception accorded Mr. Xi is seen by many observers as reflecting Vietnam’s “bamboo diplomacy” in which Vietnam is swaying between kowtowing to China and warming up to its old enemy, America.

China “at the drop of a hat can slow down and even totally shut down cross-border traffic,” Mr. Robinson told the Sun. “Vietnam knows how vulnerable it is both economically and militarily.”

Of course, “Nothing can be said publicly,” he added. “Any public display of anger against China is immediately squashed, but you do regularly hear people say that Vietnam is just a colony of China.”