Publication

This commentary reviews the implications of the July 2015 visit to the United States by the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam for relations between the two countries. The author argues that the visit positively contributed to the relationship by 1) identifying new areas of cooperation; 2) reinforcing existing cooperation; 3) contributing to cooperation in areas where the two countries disagree because of differences in values, such as democracy and human rights, 4) broadening bilateral relations to new areas of cooperation, and 5) allowing US-Vietnam relations to contribute to peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region.