US, Vietnam Pledge to Boost Ties as Blinken Visits Hanoi

US, Vietnam Pledge to Boost Ties as Blinken Visits Hanoi
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accompanied by Ambassador of the United States to Vietnam Marc Knapper (R), walks to Binh Minh Jazz Club in Hanoi, Vietnam, on April 15, 2023. Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
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HANOI—Fifty years after the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam, Secretary of State Antony Blinken looked Saturday to strengthen America’s ties with its old foes in Hanoi as it seeks to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Blinken and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pledged to boost relations to new levels as they met just two weeks after the 50th anniversary of the U.S. troop withdrawal that marked the end of America’s direct military involvement in Vietnam.