US President Joe Biden said yesterday Tuesday that he will visit Vietnam “soon” in order to “change” the relationship with Hanoi, against the backdrop of tensions with China, both in the region and between Washington and Beijing.

“I’m going to Vietnam soon because Vietnam wants to change our relationship, to become a partner,” Mr. Biden said at a campaign fundraiser in the state of New Mexico.

Asked about this announcement, a representative of Mr. Biden’s services at the White House limited himself to saying that he had “nothing more” to announce “at this time.”

During their meeting in April, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed a desire to deepen bilateral relations.

Washington is seeking to strengthen its relations with Asian states to counter what it says is an increasingly assertive China.

Mr Blinken said at the time that he hoped to deepen the relationship within “weeks” or “months”.

Washington wants relations with Hanoi to acquire the character of a “strategic” partnership, although the Vietnamese government seems wary, as it does not want to be seen as adopting a competitive stance against China, which is important for the country’s exports in many ways, or of Russia, the country’s traditional partner.

At another fund-raising event in Maine on July 28, the US president said he had received a phone call from “the head of Vietnam”, adding that he “desperately wants to meet me when I go to the G20”, referring to his planned attendance at the group meeting in New Delhi on 9 and 10 September.

“He wants to upgrade us to a major partner, along with Russia and China,” Mr. Biden added. He was probably referring to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trog, with whom he held talks in March.

It is not clear what strengthening the relationship would mean. Experts say that there could be a strengthening of bilateral military cooperation.

Vietnam appears to want to diversify its defense equipment suppliers. Russia remains the main player to this day. However, such agreements would face obstacles in the US Congress.