Topline
President Joe Biden unveiled a string of tech and aviation deals with Vietnam and celebrated deepening U.S. ties with the country, lauding a “new stage” in Washington’s relationship with Hanoi and a new “comprehensive strategic partnership” as both countries maneuver to counter China’s rising influence.
President Joe Biden arrived in Hanoi on Sunday September 10.
Key Facts
Biden urged leading tech and aviation firms from Vietnam and the U.S. including Boeing, Google, Intel, electric carmaker VinFast, Vietnam Airlines and e-wallet company MoMo to “forge new partnerships” at an innovation summit closing out his visit to Hanoi, according to news reports.
“We need to develop and drive our collaboration,” the president told executives, urging them “to “keep it up.”
The White House unveiled deals during the trip including Microsoft’s plans to create a “generative AI-based solution tailored for Vietnam and emerging markets,” a $7.5 billion agreement between Boeing and Vietnam Airlines for 50 737 Max jets, plans for Arizona-based Amkor Technology to build a $1.6 billion factory in Vietnam and Nvidia partnering with FPT, Viettel, and VinGroup on AI.
Biden’s tech push comes a day after the U.S. struck a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Vietnam, Hanoi’s highest diplomatic status.
In a joint statement on the partnership, Vietnam’s Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong and Biden warned against the “threat or use of force” to settle territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Disagreements over the strategic waterway—which is almost entirely claimed by China, which has been accused of using force to push its claims where they overlap with those of nearby countries like Vietnam and the Philippines—must be solved using international norms, the two leaders said.
Key Background
Biden’s trip to Vietnam, the president’s first, is widely seen as an effort by Washington to curb China’s influence in Asia. Hanoi has had close, if complex, relations with Beijing for years and the deal deepening ties is a win for the Biden Administration. Hanoi is also a strong economic force in the region, a major supplier of minerals used to make tech devices and a manufacturing hub that U.S. companies are increasingly turning to in order to reduce their reliance on China. Biden’s trip follows on the heels of the G20 meeting in India, which has faced criticism for its failure to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine and lack of any concrete pledge on phasing out fossil fuels.
Crucial Quote
Responding to a reporter’s question in Hanoi, Biden rejected the suggestion Washington’s actions in Hanoi were more about curbing China’s rising influence than cultivating ties with Vietnam. “I think we think too much in terms of Cold War terms,” Biden said, according to the BBC. “It’s not about that. It’s about generating economic growth and stability… I want to see China to succeed economically, but I want to see them succeed by the rules.”
Further Reading
US, Vietnam firms hold business summit during Biden visit; AI deals unveiled (Reuters)
Biden visits Vietnam to bolster alliance confronting China (Washington Post)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/09/11/biden-forges-tech-deals-in-vietnam-while-denying-cold-war-with-china/