 | diplomaticbriefing Jan 1 | Communist Party-ruled Vietnam has upgraded ties with the world's top powers, including former foes, China and the United States, as part of its "bamboo diplomacy". After a string of deals this year and last, the Southeast Asian country's top partners include the United States, China, India, South Korea and Russia, which for decades has supplied most of Vietnam's military equipment. A regional manufacturing powerhouse, Vietnam is an increasingly strategic player in global supply chains. To bolster this position, the country's most powerful figure, Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, used in 2021 the imagery of "strong roots, stout trunk, and flexible branches" of the bamboo plant to describe Vietnam's foreign policy approach of having "more friends, fewer foes". Vietnam and China earlier this month agreed to build a community with a "shared future" during a visit to Hanoi by Chinese President Xi Jinping, his first to an Asian country this year.Vietnam and the United States elevated in September their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest level in Vietnam's ranking, and announced closer cooperation on semiconductors and critical minerals during a visit to Hanoi by U.S. president Joe Biden. Vietnam and Japan in November upgraded their relations to Vietnam's top tier during a visit by Vietnamese president Vo Van Thuong to Tokyo, agreeing to boost security and economic cooperation. Vietnam and South Korea elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in December 2022 during a visit to Seoul by then Vietnamese president Nguyen Xuan Phuc, focusing on trade, investment, defence and security. Vietnam and the Vatican agreed in July to have the first post-war resident papal representative in Hanoi during a visit to meet Pope Francis by Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong. The representative was appointed in December. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/vietnams-bamboo-diplomacy-shifts-into-higher-gear-2023-12-28/) Talks to appoint a papal representative had started in 2009. | | | |  | You can also reply to this email to leave a comment. | | | | |
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