The state visit to Vietnam by US President Joe Biden, at the invitation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, takes place at a time when Vietnam and the US are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their comprehensive partnership.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 28 years ago, Vietnam and the US have made great strides in bilateral cooperation. The Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership has grown more extensive, substantive and comprehensive, making positive contributions to peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development throughout the region and the world. Fine cooperative achievements are the basis for the two countries to further elevate Vietnam-US ties for the shared goal of peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

Imprint of political-diplomatic cooperation

In July 1995, an extremely significant event took place after a long journey of efforts from both Vietnam and the US. On the night of July 11 (US time), US President Bill Clinton officially announced the normalisation of diplomatic relations with Vietnam. On the morning of July 12 (Vietnam time), Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet officially announced the normalisation of diplomatic relations with the US. The past was set aside and a new chapter opened in the history of the two countries.

The normalisation of relations 28 years ago has laid the cornerstone for significant developments in the relationship between the two countries. In August 1995, the two countries opened their respective embassies in Washington and Hanoi. Subsequent visits by senior leaders from both countries helped foster the robust growth of Vietnam-US relations.

On the US side, following the normalisation of relations with Vietnam, four consecutive US Presidents all made visits to Vietnam: President Bill Clinton in 2000, President George W. Bush in 2006, President Barack Obama in 2016 and President Donald Trump in 2017.

High-ranking Vietnamese leaders also made visits to the US, including Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in 2005, President Nguyen Minh Triet in 2007, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2008, President Truong Tan Sang in 2013, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2015 and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in 2017.

In July 2013, during President Truong Tan Sang's visit to the US at the invitation of President Barack Obama, the two sides established the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership, shaping the framework of bilateral relations for a new period.

An important foundation for the development of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership is the two sides' affirmation of basic principles, such as respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political institutions, equal cooperation, and mutual benefit, based on international law and the United Nations Charter.

Vietnam affirmed its consistent view of attaching importance to developing relations with the US, promoting the results of cooperation and continuing to promote further development of Vietnam-US relations, based on the basic principles agreed upon by senior leaders of both sides.

The US consistently affirmed its commitment to support a "strong, independent and prosperous" Vietnam, appreciated Vietnam's role and values in the US-Vietnam relationship and wished to continue promoting the bilateral relations based on respect for each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions, aiming to elevate relations.

On that basis, Vietnam and the US have promoted political-diplomatic cooperation, maintained contact activities, exchanged delegations at all levels, enhanced understanding and deepened bilateral relations. Through bilateral contacts at multilateral forums, the two sides have promoted cooperation at international and regional forums; and coordinated increasingly and effectively in solving regional and international issues of common concern.

Notably, in March 2023, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Joe Biden held important phone talks, orienting and creating strong momentum for the two countries' relationship.

During the talks, the two leaders highly appreciated the positive and comprehensive development achievements of the two countries' relations over the past time; and agreed to promote, develop and deepen the Vietnam-US relations for the benefit of the two countries, for peace, cooperation and development, in the spirit of “putting aside the past, overcoming differences, promoting similarities, and looking towards the future”.

To continue the profound, sustainable and substantive development of Vietnam-US relations, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong outlined several major directions, increasing contact and exchange between levels and sectors in various and flexible forms, including promoting the relationship between the Government, the National Assembly, the Congress and the relationship between the parties and people of the two countries.

The General Secretary suggested the two sides continue to expand and turn economic, scientific, and technological cooperation, into a focus and driving force of relations; implement defence-security cooperation agreements, attach importance to promoting harmonious and sustainable trade; ensure supply chains, infrastructure and new fields, such as logistics, digital economy, green transformation, health; promote cooperation to overcome war consequences.

US President Biden affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner and his nation supports an "independent, self-reliant and prosperous" Vietnam. He reaffirmed respect for Vietnamese independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political institutions, agreeing that respect is an important foundation of bilateral relations.

The US commits to promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, looks forward to the cooperation of Vietnam and other countries, in negotiating the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, and supports and promotes cooperation for the peaceful and sustainable development of the Mekong region. He also affirmed the importance of ASEAN's central role.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Dung, many people comment on Vietnam-US relations using the word "miraculous". The Ambassador said that the two countries have achieved many cooperative achievements, which few people could have imagined 28 years ago. However, it must be affirmed that the achievements that the two countries have today are not due to luck or coincidence, but are the result of a process of persistent efforts by many generations of leaders and people of the two countries.

A long step forward in economic cooperation

Along with good political relations, the economic, trade and investment cooperations are also successful areas of cooperation between Vietnam and the US, becoming the focus, foundation and driving force of development for the general relationship between the two countries.

Currently, the US is one of Vietnam's leading trading partners and is Vietnam's first export market to surpass 100 billion USD. Since the two countries normalised relations until now, trade growth between Vietnam and the US has increased from 451 million USD in 1995, to about 130 billion USD in 2022.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper stressed that Vietnam's export products are suitable for the US market and consumer tastes, mainly including machinery, electronic equipment, textiles and garments, footwear, seafood, wood and wood products.

In terms of investment, the US has been a major investment partner in Vietnam for many years, with nearly 1,150 active projects and a total registered investment capital of more than 10.3 billion USD, ranking 11th among 141 economies granting investment in Vietnam. Vietnam is now the seventh largest trading partner of the US in the world.

Major US businesses have continued to pay attention and make long-term investments in the Vietnamese market; and wish to expand cooperation with Vietnamese partners in areas of interest to Vietnam, such as infrastructure development, supply chains, energy and digital transformation, high-tech investment and creative innovation.

The two sides have maintained regular exchanges to strengthen cooperation and discuss prospects for expanding cooperation in new areas in need of each side. The two countries have made frank, substantive and constructive dialogue to resolve outstanding issues in their trade relations. Notably, in November 2022, the US Treasury officially removed Vietnam from the US's monetary manipulation monitoring list.

At the regional level, Vietnam has actively participated in discussions with the US and other partners on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). In a message commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasised that the two countries have opportunities to promote cooperation in many new fields, especially boosting the development of a sustainable and inclusive economy.

Continuously exploiting potential

The defence-security relations between Vietnam and the US have maintained development momentum, notably Vietnam welcoming US aircraft carriers to Da Nang port three times, in 2018, 2020 and 2023. The two sides have also maintained an annual dialogue mechanism.

Humanitarian cooperation and overcoming the consequences of war have continued to be a high priority and achieved many specific results. The US has continued to increase the budget for the decontamination project at Bien Hoa airport, assist people with disabilities in dioxin-contaminated areas, aid for mine clearance projects, and search, gather, and examine the remains of Vietnamese soldiers during the war. Vietnamese agencies have coordinated with the US side to search, identify and return the remains of missing US soldiers.

The two sides also successfully organised the Defence Policy Dialogue and approved the Defence Action Plan for the 2022-2024 period, continued to deploy annual dialogue mechanisms and coordinated to promote the Pacific Partnership Programme 2023.

The educational cooperation between Vietnam and the US has also made many positive strides. The US International Development Finance Agency (DFC) announced a US Government budget of 37 million USD, for Fulbright University Vietnam to build a school in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City.

The two sides also coordinated to send the first cohort of US volunteers to Vietnam in October 2022, to teach English under the Peace Corps programme in Vietnam. Currently, Vietnam has six US-invested educational institutions in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, and Binh Duong.

Medical cooperation, COVID-19 response and post-pandemic recovery between Vietnam and the US continue to be a highlight, especially in mutual support of medical equipment, vaccine access, pandemic prevention and control and citizen protection. In addition, the two sides continue to strengthen cooperation in responding to climate change and energy transition.

Regarding regional and international cooperation, the two countries continue to closely coordinate on issues of mutual concern, especially within the framework of the United Nations Security Council, as well as at regional forums, such as ASEAN and APEC and in global affairs. The US also appreciates Vietnam’s role in ASEAN and the two countries have coordinated to promote relevant parties to reach a consensus on upgrading ASEAN-US relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Despite aspects of cooperation, Vietnam-US relations also reveal some existing problems. However, the two sides have built effective methods to manage and resolve these issues, while maintaining frank and constructive dialogue on divergent issues, to avoid affecting the positive momentum of cooperation between the two sides.

Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung believes that Vietnam-US relations will continue to grow to new heights when looking at what the two countries have accomplished together, Vietnam’s new position, as well as the history of the development of bilateral relations. That serves the practical interests of the two peoples, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, security, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

According to former Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Cuong, there are reasons to believe that Vietnam-US relations will continue to thrive in the coming years. One of those foundations is that the relationship between the two countries has gone through many challenges since it was normalised and upgraded to a Comprehensive Partnership, but still develops quite comprehensively and is positively evaluated by both sides. With the rapid changes in the economic and political situation in the region and the world, Vietnam and the US have more opportunities to cooperate at a higher level.

US President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam is of special significance, demonstrating the US’s regard for Vietnam and Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The visit also affirms Vietnam’s position and prestige and expresses the US’s determination to bring US-Vietnam relations to new heights. The new stature of the two countries’ relationship will establish a sustainable and long-term framework and open up space for the development of bilateral relations in the coming decades, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in the region and the world.