President Joe Biden made a historic stop in Vietnam on Sunday, 50 years after the last U.S. troops left the country.
The trip helped showcase how ties between the two countries have strengthened since the Vietnam War, while also serving as part of the administration's overall effort to bolster relationships throughout Asia at a time of rising tensions with China.
"So really, what this trip was about, it was less about containing China. I don't want to contain China. I just want to make sure we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up squared away. Everybody knows what it's all about," said President Biden.
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The corridor, outlined at the annual G20 summit, would also connect India to the Middle East.
President Biden met with the country's leaders in Hanoi, expressed his support for the new "comprehensive strategic partnership," and said he hopes this serves as a step towards progress on many issues.
"We can trace a 50-year arc of progress between our nations from conflict to normalization to this new elevated status," Biden said. "We’re working to tackle the climate crisis and to accelerate Vietnam’s clean energy transition; strengthening global health security and advance treatments for cancer and HIV/AIDS; enhance our security cooperation, including countering trafficking in persons."
President Biden's 1-day trip to Vietnam comes after he attended the G20 summit in India, where he announced the launch of a new economic corridor that will connect India, the Middle East, and Europe.
The summit also admitted the African Union, which includes 55 member states, as a permanent member of the G20.
