Trump Embraces Vietnam as Strategic Partner After Trade Setback

by Dramelin 10:30 PM 0 comments

Former adversary now an important U.
partner in the region U.
President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vietnam`s prime minister, at the White House.
President Donald Trump sought to advance ties with Vietnam beyond a trade spat as he welcomed Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the White House, reaffirming the country’s importance as a strategic partner in Southeast Asia.
“Prime Minister Phuc has done a spectacular job in Vietnam, led so many different categories in trade and other things,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday before their meeting.
Trump’s meeting with Phuc, the first Southeast Asian leader to visit the new president in Washington, was a sign that his administration would continue former President Barack Obama’s efforts to strengthen relations with the Communist-led country.
Disappointed by Trump’s decision to pull the U.
out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership pact that included Vietnam, Phuc is looking for new trade deals and a continued American presence in the region as a check against growing Chinese assertiveness.
Read more on how Vietnam’s leader is looking to salvage trade gains in Trump visit “The meeting shows that the Trump administration will not only continue the cooperation Vietnam had with Obama, but will also expand it to new areas, including national defense and intelligence,” said Le Dang Doanh, an independent economist and former Vietnamese government adviser.
“So Premier Phuc has had a successful and fruitful trip.
” In a joint statement, the leaders agreed to continue to strengthen defense ties and trade.
They also reiterated the importance of freedom of navigation and flights in the South China Sea, the focus of territorial disputes with China that is a key shipping lane for $5 trillion in exports a year.
“We’re going to be discussing trade,” Trump said.
“We’re going to be discussing North Korea.
We have many things to talk about and we look forward to being together, very much so.
” Sitting next to Trump, Phuc said “the relationship between Vietnam and the United States has undergone significant upheavals in history, but today we have been able to become comprehensive partners.