ABC News: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
HANOI — The United States and Vietnam<\/a> pledged to boost relations as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Hanoi on Saturday as part of the Biden administration\u2019s push to counter China<\/a>\u2019s increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blinken and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday vowed to bring ties to a new level. Their meeting came just two weeks after the 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of American combat forces from South Vietnam that marked the end of America\u2019s direct military involvement in the Vietnam war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it came as Blinken was set to break ground on a sprawling new $1.2 billion U.S. embassy compound in the Vietnamese capital, a project the administration hopes will demonstrate its commitment to further improving ties less than 30 years after diplomatic relations were restored in 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite concerns over Vietnam\u2019s human rights record, Washington sees Hanoi as a key component of its strategy for the region and has sought to leverage Vietnam’s traditional rivalry with its much larger neighbor China to expand U.S. influence in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe now hope to be able to take (relations) to an even higher level,\u201d Blinken said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis has been a very comprehensive and effective relationship and going forward we will continue to deepen relations,\u201d Chinh said \u201cWe highly appreciate the role and responsibility of the U.S. towards the Asia-Pacific or, in the larger scheme, the Indo-Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that Vietnam’s communist government is keen to \u201cfurther elevate our bilateral ties to a new height.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n