Vietnam's 'Bamboo' Diplomacy Hailed for Balancing Between US, China

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong shake hands in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Dec. 12, 2023. Vietnam hosted Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden within about three months of each other. FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a welcome ceremony hosted by Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Sept. 10, 2023.

Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has hailed improved relations with the U.S. and China as significant gains in the country's "bamboo" diplomatic strategy of balancing ties with superpowers.