While addressing a joint press conference in Hanoi, after his summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, United States President Donald Trump not only discussed the US-North Korea Summit but also went on to talk about the current state of US-China relations. Trump criticised his predecessors for not doing enough to address the US trade imbalance with China, while also making the point that he was supportive of China’s economic progress and growth, but not at the cost of the US.

If one were to look beyond the perceptive significance of the summit in terms of the broader US-Vietnam economic relationship, top US companies Boeing and GE Electricsealed some important deals.

Given the main focus of Trump’s visit (which was the summit with North Korean leader), the aforementioned deals perhaps did not draw the attention that they ought to have. The enhanced economic ties are reflective of the fact that the US has begun to recognise Vietnam’s economic potential, as well as its geopolitical significance. This paper seeks to present a backgrounder to Vietnam’s economic growth story in recent years, some of its key strategic relationships and to examine the nature of the China-US-Vietnam economic triangle.