WASHINGTON (AFP) – Vietnam on Tuesday called on the United States (US) to recognise it as a market economy, saying stronger trade ties would benefit Washington in key areas.
“Our American friends and partners often say a strong, independent, resilient and prosperous Vietnam is in the interest of the US. We look forward to stronger actions by the US to realise this commitment,” Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said on a visit to Washington.
“We hope that the US will soon recognise Vietnam’s market economy status,” he said at the Brookings Institution think tank, a day after meeting top officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In a letter earlier this year to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, eight senators led by Sherrod Brown – a union-friendly member of Biden’s Democratic Party who faces a tough reelection fight – urged a decision against market economy status for Vietnam, pointing in part to concerns about organised labour rights in the country.
But Bui said that Vietnam offered potential in key areas of interest to the US including in semiconductors, critical minerals and artificial intelligence. “Our cooperation in this area can elevate Vietnam’s position in the regional and global value chain, which also benefits the US and other partners,” he said.
He also told the US audience not to expect policy turbulence in Vietnam despite recent political upheaval.
The Party last week announced that Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong, had quit after barely a year on the job due to unspecified “violations and shortcomings”.
“Vietnam’s campaign for anti-corruption has been going on, and it is welcomed by the international community, including the businesses,” the foreign minister said in explaining the resignation.
He noted that Vietnam has “collective leadership,” with a Party Congress taking place every five years and a policy vision set out through 2045.
“The resignation of the president, I think, it would not affect our foreign policy as well as our own policies of economic development,” Bui said.
