US says Hanoi ties upgrade is not a ‘cold war’ move against China

The United States’ move to upgrade relation with Hanoi is not a Cold War move against China, a U.S. National Security Council official said on Wednesday.
“The idea that this is in any way any kind of Cold War move, and also the idea that this diplomatic opening is any kind of effort to choose between Vietnam and China, because I don’t think it is either one of those things,” Mira Rapp-Hooper, National Security Council Director for the Indo-Pacific, said at a digital news briefing.
Vietnam and the United States on Sunday upgraded their relationship to the highest diplomatic status during a visit to Hanoi by U.S. President Joe Biden.
On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called on the U.S. to “abandon hegemony and Cold War thinking,” in her response to the Vietnam-U.S. relation upgrade.