US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he would travel to Vietnam "shortly" as part of an effort to improve ties with Hanoi, as Washington seeks to counter China's influence in the region.
"I'm going to be going to Vietnam shortly because Vietnam wants to change our relationship and become a partner," Biden said during remarks in New Mexico.
The United States and Vietnam have increasingly close trade links.
Washington and Hanoi pledged in April to upgrade diplomatic ties when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped over on his way to a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting in Japan.
