Long ago, successive epochs saw central and northern Vietnam as inextricably linked with Chinese influence. In 968, Vietnam formally broke from China to become an independent country. Since then, it passed through many feudal dynasties, constantly expanding as a southern neighbor, yet it remained a vassal state of China under every dynasty. From the mid-19th century on, it became soon French colonialism. In August 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which was changed to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976. After the 1986 reform and opening-up, the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 2001 affirmed to form a socialist-oriented market economy. The ruling party in the present Vietnamese political system is the Communist Party of Vietnam. Vietnam has been a willing member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.