The U.S. considers building strong economic and security ties with Vietnam a priority, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said yesterday as she met with Vietnamese officials in a visit aimed at fortifying America’s relations across Asia.
Yellen arrived in Vietnam after visits to Beijing and to India, where she attended financial meetings of the Group of 20 major industrial economies.
“The United States considers Vietnam a key partner in advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Yellen told Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, according to remarks provided by the U.S. Treasury Department.
A “free and open Indo-Pacific” refers to the latest iteration of broad U.S. diplomacy aimed at cultivating stronger ties with other countries in the region to counter China’s growing sway among its neighbors.
“Vietnam is also a close economic partner, with our two-way trade reaching record highs last year and the United States serving as Vietnam’s largest export market,” Yellen said. “It is a priority for our administration to deepen our economic and security ties with Vietnam in the months and years to come.”
Yellen briefly sat atop a bright red electric scooter during a visit to a factory in Hanoi’s lush green suburbs, where Selex Motors, a five-year-old Vietnamese startup, makes EV scooters and batteries.
Climate change poses an existential threat to the world but also provides a “key economic opportunity” and way to build “greater resilience into our economies,” she said, describing the facility as “impressive.”
Yellen said the U.S. recognized the importance of diversifying supply chains after experiencing the disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. “And then, when Russia invaded Ukraine, many countries saw what the implications could be of being overly dependent — in Europe’s case for natural gas and oil — on a country that could use it for geopolitical ends,” she said.
She said the U.S. was actively trying to promote green resilience in supply chains. That doesn’t mean ending trading relationships with China, she said, reiterating comments she has voiced before. “But we do partner with more countries. And we see Vietnam as an excellent partner,” she said.
Yellen said the U.S. is committed to mobilizing $15 billion to support Vietnam’s adoption of renewable energy as a part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership or JETP — a financial promise made by the Group of Seven advanced economies to help the country phase out its reliance on fossil fuels. Such projects have offered similar incentives to South Africa and Indonesia. ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL, HANOI, MDT/AP
