HANOI (AP) — President Joe Biden opened his first visit to Vietnam on Sunday saying the two nations have a chance to shape the Indo-Pacific for decades to come — evidence of how far the relationship has evolved from what Biden referred to as the “bitter past” of the Vietnam War that ended almost a half-century ago.
Vietnam is elevating relations with the U.S. to the level of a comprehensive strategic partner, Vietnam’s highest tier of international partnership.
Biden, meeting with the country’s leaders, welcomed the move and said he hoped progress could be made on climate, the economy and other issues during his 24-hour visit to Hanoi.
“We can trace a 50-year arc of progress between our nations from conflict to normalization to this new elevated status,” Biden said as he and Nguyễn Phú Trọng, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, announced the new relationship status at party headquarters.
The U.S. president, who has described himself as being part…