President Biden arrives in Vietnam, establishes historic deal

President Joe Biden arrived in Vietnam on Sunday for a visit meant to strengthen U.S.-Vietnam relations.

When President Biden arrived in Hanoi, he was greeted with a special welcoming ceremony, featuring young students waving American flags and guards with bayoneted rifles, Reuters reports. The ceremony was organized by the Communist Party, which currently heads Vietnam’s government.

During a press conference on Sunday, President Biden praised the strengthened relationship between the United States and Vietnam. According to The New York Times, Vietnam also confirmed that it had upgraded the U.S. to the highest tier of a three-level system that dictates the country’s foreign relations.

The President also secured deals on semiconductors and minerals, Reuters reports. The U.S. is hoping to strengthen relationships with other countries that have strong manufacturing industries in order to protect itself if relationships with China sour.

CNN reports that Biden also used the trip as an opportunity to pitch the U.S. as a more trustworthy ally than China. However, when speaking to General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng of the Communist Party and other Asian leaders, Biden emphasized that the goal wasn’t to “contain 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, and everyone knows what it’s all about,” Biden said at a press conference, according to CNN. “We have an opportunity to strengthen alliances around the world to maintain stability. That’s what this trip is all about, having India cooperate much more with United States, be closer to the United States, Vietnam being closer with the United States. It’s not about containing China. It’s about having a stable base – a stable base in Indo-Pacific.”