US President Joe Biden will visit Vietnam on September 10 for a meeting with leader of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, the White House announced Monday.
The stop in Hanoi, which will follow on the heels of a multi-day visit to India for the G20 summit, comes as Washington seeks to counter China’s influence in the region.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden and leaders in Vietnam would “promote the growth of a technology-focused and innovation-driven Vietnamese economy,” as well as expanding education exchanges.
The discussions will also tackle ways to “combat climate change, and increase peace, prosperity, and stability in the region.”
Biden had announced in early August that he would soon be traveling to Vietnam, saying that Hanoi “wants to change our relationship and become a partner.”
In addition to increasingly close trade links, the United States and Vietnam both share concern over China’s growing strength.
Friction has been increasing for years between Beijing and Southeast Asian nations, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines, over China’s sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Washington and Hanoi pledged in April to upgrade diplomatic ties when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped over on his way to a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan.
