US President Joe Biden on Sunday secured deals with Vietnam on semiconductors minerals and planes as the strategic Southeast Asian nation lifted Washington to Hanoi’s highest diplomatic status alongside China and Russia.
The US has been pushing for the upgrade for months as it sees the manufacturing dynamo as a key country in its strategy to secure global supply chains from China-related risks.
Vietnam Airlines has agreed to buy about 50 Boeing 737 Max jets in a deal valued at about $7.5 billion. The deal will support “over 33,000 direct and indirect jobs” in the US, the White House said in a statement.
