Biden finds a new friend in Vietnam as American CEOs look for alternatives to Chinese factories

President Joe Biden on Sunday opened a visit to a Vietnam that wants to dramatically ramp up trade with the United States, a sign of how competition with China is reshaping relationships across Asia.

The president has made it a point of pride that Vietnam is elevating the United States to the status of being a comprehensive strategic partner. Other countries that Vietnam has extended this designation to include China and Russia. Giving the U.S. the same status suggests that Vietnam wants to hedge its friendships as U.S. and European companies look for alternatives to Chinese factories.

Biden, who arrived in Hanoi on Sunday afternoon, said last month at a fundraiser in Salt Lake City that Vietnam doesn’t want a defense alliance with the U.S., “but they want relationships because they want China to know that they’re not alone” and can choose its own partners. The president decided to tack a visit to Vietnam on to his trip to India for the Group of 20 summit that wrapped up Sunday.

“We find ourselves in a situation where all of these changes around the world are taking place,” Biden explained last month about Vietnam. “We have an opportunity, if we’re smart, to change the dynamic.”

Biden was welcomed to Vietnam with a pomp-filled outdoor ceremony at the mustard-colored Presidential Palace. Scores of children lined the steps waving small U.S. and Vietnam flags and Biden watched from an elevated review stand as high-stepping members of the military marched past. The president waved to the children before he got into his limousine for the quick trip to Communist Party headquarters and a meeting with General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng,

Jon Finer, Biden’s chief deputy national security adviser, said the elevated status represents Vietnam’s highest tier of international partnership.

“It’s important to make clear that this is more than words,” Finer told reporters Sunday aboard Biden’s flight to Hanoi. “In a system like Vietnam, it’s a signal to their entire government, their entire bureaucracy about the depth and cooperation and alignment with another country that is possible.”