US President Joe Biden is due to arrive in Hanoi on Sunday afternoon to bolster relations with Vietnam amid efforts to counter China's influence in the region.
During the 24-hour visit, Biden will meet the four top leaders of the Communist Party and visit a monument that marks where John McCain was shot down in 1967 during an air raid against Hanoi.
Biden and Vietnam's Communist Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong will sign a deal to upgrade diplomatic relations between the two former foes to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" — the highest level in Vietnam's diplomatic hierarchy, alongside China, Russia, India and South Korea.
"The upgrading of ties to 'comprehensive strategic partnership' is more than just symbolic but will have substantial changes," Le Dang Doanh, a retired senior economic adviser to five prime ministers, told dpa.
"The deal will bring great benefits to the two countries in many fields, including economic, trade and defence, contributing to peace and stability in the South China Sea as well as in Southeast Asia."
Ahead of Biden's visit, several human rights organizations, including New York-based Human Rights Watch, called on the US to urge Vietnam to immediately release all political prisoners and stop violating human rights.
