Vietnam president to visit Japan as countries discuss stronger ties

Vietnam’s president, Vo Van Thuong, will visit Japan next week, a Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday, as the two countries discuss strengthening their relations.
Closer ties would confirm Vietnam’s increasingly strategic role as an important link in global supply chains amid trade tension between China and the West, which is helping to bring foreign investment to the southeast Asian country as some companies relocate operations from China.
The elevation of ties with Japan would follow Vietnam’s historic upgrade of relations with the United States in September, when the former foes signed multiple cooperation agreements, including on semiconductors and critical minerals.
It may also be followed by a visit to Hanoi by China’s President Xi Jinping, who according to officials and diplomats, could travel to Vietnam in December and agree on a joint statement indicating the two countries share a common destiny.
Thuong’s visit from Monday to Thursday next week is his first to Japan as president and coincides with celebrations for the 50th anniversary of ties between the Asian countries.