Vietnamese president to meet Biden in New York after tech deals

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Vietnam’s top leader To Lam will meet with US President Joe Biden in New York on Wednesday after companies from both sides signed deals on semiconductors, AI and aviation.

The meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly comes a year after the two countries reached an agreement to deepen their relations and cooperation on strategic procurement in the face of growing competition from China.

Washington wants to diversify its manufacturing supply chains to free itself from excessive dependence on its strategic rival, China, and is looking to Vietnam as a reliable partner in this effort.

Communist Vietnam, long a low-cost destination for clothing, footwear and furniture manufacturing, is also eyeing a rapid rise in the global supply chain, and Lam has held meetings with the bosses of Apple and Meta and computer company Supermicro in New York.

Vietnam is particularly keen to build capacity in the lucrative microchip sector as global supply chain shocks and concerns about US dependence on China for key resources drive investment in the Southeast Asian country.

The White House said Tuesday that the meeting would be “an important opportunity for the two leaders to discuss our shared interest in stability and prosperity in Southeast Asia.”

During Lam’s trip, Supermicro signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese company Sovico in the fields of AI, semiconductors and data center construction, the government said in a statement Tuesday.

Low-cost airline Vietjet Air and US-based Honeywell Aerospace Technologies also signed a $1.1 billion cooperation agreement, according to Vietjet, and other cooperation deals were reached in the oil and gas sectors.

According to the government’s report on the meeting, Ms Lam asked tech giant Apple to consider setting up a research and development centre in Vietnam.

He also said at a business seminar in New York that he hoped the United States would become the largest investor in Vietnam, he added.

Lam also said he expected the U.S. government to soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy.

Hours before his visit, two high-profile detainees – a climate activist and a dissident – ​​were released from prison in Vietnam.

Lam took office in early August as general secretary following the death of her predecessor Nguyen Phu Trong, whom Biden hailed as “a champion of deep ties” between the two countries.

He met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing a few weeks later, on his first trip abroad.

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