Summary
Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong doesn't hold an official government post, but it's not surprising that he'll meet with President Barack Obama during his visit to the United States this week.
Economic imperatives drove the U.S. and Vietnam to normalize postwar relations 20 years ago, and they remain a major incentive to boost ties.
President Bill Clinton announced the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam on July 11, 1995, following up on the lifting of punitive economic sanctions imposed after the Vietnam War ended in 1975 with a communist victory.
U.S. officials are eager to take relations with Vietnam – currently friendly but hardly intimate – to a new level.
As a front-line country nervous about Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea, Vietnam also would not mind the U.S. directing at least a little hard talk at Beijing.
Trong emphasized the importance of Vietnam's relationship with the U.S.
It can point to a solid track record: Since 1995, annual U.S.-Vietnam trade has increased from less than $500 million to $35 billion last year.
Trong acknowledged differences with the U.S. on issues of democracy, human rights and trade.
...