On the eve of the last day of a four-day visit to India and Vietnam, President Biden emphasized one point: He is not trying to contain China.

“It’s not about containing China; it is about having a stable base in the Indo-Pacific,” the president said as he answered question after question about US-China relations at a news conference in Vietnam.

“We think too much in terms of the Cold War,” Biden later added. “That’s not what it’s about. It’s about generating economic growth and stability in all parts of the world. And that’s what we’re trying to do.”

“I want China to succeed economically, but I want to see them succeed by the rules.”

But Biden’s message, delivered in Vietnam’s capital on Sunday evening, only just brought attention

put an exclamation mark next to it

how much the subject of China loomed large during his trip to the region.

The president spent the weekend at the Group of 20 major economies summit in New Delhi and then flew to Hanoi, where the US and Vietnam met on Monday

and bilateral talks in Hanoi. despite the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and in Hanoi, where Biden and Vietnamese leaders were present

them formally elevated

to land’

bilateral relations at the highest level

diplomatic distinction that Vietnam also shares with China

. Biden insisted he would travel to India and Vietnam

both

share a border with China, to strengthen US alliances around the world.

T

However, the difference between strengthening relations with China’s neighbors and building a bulwark against Chinese influence has sometimes been difficult to distinguish.

.

The White House has so far tried to play down its policies as an effort to curb China’s influence

Biden has pursued deals to strengthen ties with multiple countries

multiple

countries in the Beijing area, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and even the Pacific Islands. The board has

aggressively imposed

limited

export of

advanced

Beijing advanced

technologies used for military and surveillance

to China

and issued an executive order limiting U.S. investment in China. At the G-20 summit, Biden unveiled deals to launch rail and shipping corridors

that will be designed

competing with China’s extensive global infrastructure investments.

Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the G-20 and Biden did not meet him during his tour of the region.

The two leaders

load

Met

personal

on the sidelines of

the last

G-20 summit in November 2022.

Biden blamed the 10-month gap between meetings

about the “economic difficulties”

suggested he hadn’t met Xi in 10 months because

what the Chinese leader is ‘dealing with’.

Xi is also attending the United Nations General Assembly this month, an annual event in New York City that draws dozens of world leaders. Biden

plans to deliver deliverables

one of the opening day speeches.

The Chinese leader likely had several reasons for skipping the G-20. In addition to

are

Due to domestic economic problems, China’s relations with India are at a hostile low

And

. Xi may have wanted to snub rival Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister who used the summit as a showcase for his country and himself. But by not showing up, Xi also ceded the stage to Modi, who tried to position himself as the

eminently

leader of the global south.

about the Chinese president.

“It is not surprising that China is moving away from international involvement,” said Andrew Wells-Dang, an expert on Southeast Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

a Washington think tank

. “But it was a missed opportunity. You would think it would have been in your best interest to attend.”

Improving relations with Vietnam was a calculation that was also made with China in the background. Vietnam has been embroiled in several clashes with Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, while Beijing, ignoring international court rulings, is trying to assert its control over most of the sea.

strategic water area

through which trillions of dollars of trade pass each year.

Despite the fact that a war was fought less than fifty years ago

their war history

the Vietnamese and the Americans are on very friendly terms,

and so forth

Biden

could be

formulated the new “strategic partnership agreement” with relative ease. Vietnam wanted protection, while Biden needs to build and strengthen a coalition of countries in the Indo-Pacific.

“The leaders underscored their unwavering support for the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, without the threat or use of force,” Biden said in a joint statement with Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong.

The importance of unity against China outweighed concerns expressed by the US about Vietnam’s human rights record and the fact that the country is ruled by

An,

the communist party.

“Today we can trace 50 years of progress in the relationship between our nations, from conflict to normalization,” Biden said after a meeting.

the family name is nguyen, but Vietnamese people are often referred to by their first names in the second reference Nguyen Phu

Strong

the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam

. “This is a new, elevated status that will be a driving force for prosperity and security in one of the most influential regions in the world.”