• US and Vietnam ink historic partnership in Biden visit, with eyes on China
• Biden holds highest-level talks with Chinese leadership in months
• Biden meets Li Qiang, says China economic “crisis“ makes Taiwan invasion less likely
• US, Vietnam upgrade ties as Biden visits in hedge against China
• Rishi Sunak challenges premier Li after ‘spying for China’ arrests
• US, Vietnam to boost ties as Biden visits, seek China hedge with chips, rare earths
• [Blogs] The Papers: 'Chinese spy arrest' and 'hell on earth' after quake

US and Vietnam ink historic partnership in Biden visit, with eyes on China

https://reuters.com/article/vietnam-usa-biden/us-and-vietnam-ink-historic-partnership-in-biden-visit-with-eyes-on-china-idUSKBN30F0GR

HANOI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday secured deals with Vietnam on semiconductors and minerals as the strategic Southeast Asian nation lifted Washington to Hanoi’s highest diplomatic status alongside China and Russia.

The U.S. has been pushing for the upgrade for months as it sees the manufacturing dynamo as a key country in its strategy to secure global supply chains from China-related risks.

A half-century after a lengthy and brutal Cold War-era conflict, Biden arrived in Hanoi to a ceremony organised by the ruling Communist Party that included school children waving American flags and honour guards carrying bayoneted rifles.

Biden noted the strides that had been taken toward improved ties.

“We can trace a 50-year arc of progress between our nations, from conflict to normalization, to this new elevated status,” he said.

The partnership with Vietnam is part of the Biden administration’s push “to demonstrate to our our Indo-Pacific partners and to the world, the United States is a Pacific nation and we’re not going anywhere,” Biden told reporters after the meeting in Hanoi.

Vietnam is navigating frosty relations between Washington and Beijing as the tech and textile exporter seeks its own foothold in the international competition to be a low-cost manufacturing hub.

Top Chinese officials, possibly including President Xi Jinping, are expected to visit Vietnam in the coming days or weeks, officials and diplomats said, as Hanoi seeks to maintain good relations with all super powers.

Biden also said in Hanoi he had talked with Xi’s deputy at the G20, and that the two talked about stability.

Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, 79, remarked on the 80-year-old U.S. president’s appearance inside party headquarters, saying “You have nary aged a day and I would say you look even better than before.”

Vietnam’s longstanding relationship with Russia faces tests over the war in Ukraine, including talks with Moscow over a new arms supply deal that could trigger U.S. sanctions.

Reuters has seen documents describing talks for a credit facility that Russia would extend to Vietnam to buy heavy weaponry, including anti-ship missiles, antisubmarine aircraft and helicopters, antiaircraft missile systems and fighter jets.

One of them, a letter sent in May by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to the Russian government, showed interest in the possible new deal.

A Vietnamese military officer confirmed the authenticity of the letter and the talks for a new $8 billion credit facility to buy heavy weaponry.

A spokesperson for Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the documents, which show Moscow pushing for months for a loan deal that would bypass Western sanctions on Moscow.

Hanoi is in similar talks with multiple arms suppliers, including the United States. In recent weeks, Vietnam has engaged in several high-level defence meetings with top Russian officials.

The U.S.- Vietnam upgrade will include a security dimension, Jon Finer, the U.S. principal deputy national security adviser, told reporters on Sunday, while on the plane with Biden to Vietnam from a Group of 20 summit in India.

He said he had no arms deals to announce at this stage but stressed that the U.S. and its partners could offer Vietnam help to diversify away from Russian military supplies, an offer which he said Vietnam was receptive to.

That would help Vietnam reduce military reliance on Moscow, “a relationship we think they are increasingly uncomfortable with,” Finer said.

Biden’s visit comes as bilateral trade and investment ties are growing and a long-simmering territorial dispute between Vietnam and China heats up in the South China Sea.

Vietnam Airlines is expected to sign an initial agreement to buy about 50 Boeing (BA.N) 737 Max jets in a deal valued at $10 billion, timed to the trip.

Highlighting Vietnam’s growing importance as a “friendshoring” destination for U.S. technology companies, executives from Google, Intel, Amkor, Marvell, GlobalFoundries and Boeing are expected to meet on Monday with Vietnamese tech executives and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Hanoi.

Still, semiconductors are the centrepiece of an action plan adopted during Biden’s visit, U.S. officials said.

Besides possible announcements by U.S. corporations, it is unclear what else the the partnership could mean. The US government has $100 million a year for five years available under the CHIPS Act to support semiconductor supply chains globally. A large part of it could go to Vietnam, officials said.

More support to train skilled workers is also part of the deal, as Vietnam faces a major shortage of engineers in the chips sector.

Another key issue is strengthening supply chains of critical minerals, especially rare earths, of which Vietnam has the world’s largest deposits after China, according to U.S. estimates, officials said.

Two people familiar with the plans said an agreement on rare earths was expected during Biden’s visit, which ends on Monday when he flies back to America.

Details, however, are scant. Past attempts by U.S. companies to partner with Vietnamese rare earth firms have not succeeded, according to a person involved in one recent plan.

Human rights remain a controversial issue, with U.S. officials regularly criticising Hanoi for jailing activists and limiting freedom of expression. Vietnam may show goodwill, with diplomats suggesting activists could be freed.

Biden holds highest-level talks with Chinese leadership in months

https://reuters.com/article/g20-summit-biden-china/biden-holds-highest-level-talks-with-chinese-leadership-in-months-idUSKBN30G0BR

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he held his highest-level direct talks with Chinese leadership in months and said the country's economic wobbles wouldn't lead it to invade Taiwan.

"My team, my staff still meets with President Xi's people and his cabinet," Biden told reporters. "I met with his No.2 person in India today."

Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the annual G20 summit in New Delhi. In March, he took office in the country's No.2 post.

The two spoke about stability and the Southern Hemisphere, he said.

He added that the Chinese economy has struggled due to a lack of international growth, but Biden didn't see it leading the country to taking steps to change the status quo of self-ruled Taiwan.

"I don't think this is going to cause China to invade Taiwan," Biden said. "As a matter of fact, the opposite, probably doesn’t have the same capacity that it had before."

---

Biden meets Li Qiang, says China economic “crisis“ makes Taiwan invasion less likely

https://reuters.com/article/g20-summit-biden-china/biden-speaks-to-chinas-li-at-g20-says-economic-crisis-makes-taiwan-invasion-less-likely-idUSKBN30G0BR

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he held his highest level talks with Chinese leadership in months, adding that Beijing's economic wobbles would not lead it to invade Taiwan.

Biden said he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping's No.2, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at the annual G20 summit in New Delhi. The talks were the highest level meeting between the two powers in nearly 10 months since Biden and Xi spoke at last year's G20 in Indonesia.

Li, who took became premier in March, attended the gathering of world leaders in place of Xi. The two leaders were not expected to hold talks at the G20 but unscripted encounters at summits are common.

"My team, my staff still meets with President Xi's people and his cabinet," Biden told reporters. "I met with his No.2 person in India today."

He added: "We talked about stability," and the Southern Hemisphere. "It wasn't confrontational at all."

The White House on Sunday said Biden had met with a Chinese leader at the summit.

The two super powers have been trying to thaw frosty relations this year after a spat over a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over U.S. territory, while fears of an economic slowdown have gripped Beijing.

Speaking at a press conference in Vietnam, Biden touted the U.S. economy as the "strongest" globally. He told reporters that China's growth was slowing due to a weak global economy as well as Chinese policies but did not specify which policies.

Biden called China's economic situation a "crisis," citing issues in the real estate sector and high youth unemployment.

"One of the major economic tenets of his plan isn't working at all right now," Biden said of Xi, without elaborating. "I'm not happy for that, but it's not working."

Biden added: "He has his hands full right now."

The Democratic president is headed into a 2024 re-election campaign where his own handling of the economy and inflation has become a central concern for voters.

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.1% annualised rate last quarter. Central bankers have sharply raised interest rates to bring inflation back down to target levels.

August trade data showed China's exports and imports both narrowing their declines, joining other indicators showing a possible stabilisation in the economic downturn, as policymakers seek to spur demand and fend off deflation.

Li has said China should achieve its 2023 growth target of around 5%, but some analysts think a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending and tumbling credit growth could mean lower growth.

Biden has tried to keep communications open with China to lower the temperature in international frictions including over Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by China.

"I don't think this is going to cause China to invade Taiwan," Biden said of the country's economic troubles. "As a matter of fact, the opposite, probably doesn't have the same capacity that it had before."

He described the United States as a Pacific power with no intention of withdrawing from the region.

Biden also said recent moves by Chinese officials to curb the use of U.S.-designed Apple (AAPL.O) iPhones by state employees amounted to trying to "change some of the rules of the game" on trade.

"I am sincere about getting the relationship right," he said.

---

US, Vietnam upgrade ties as Biden visits in hedge against China

https://reuters.com/article/vietnam-usa-biden/us-vietnam-upgrade-ties-as-biden-visits-in-hedge-against-china-idUSKBN30F0GR

HANOI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden secured deals with Vietnam on semiconductors and minerals as the strategic Southeast Asian nation elevated Washington to its highest diplomatic status alongside China and Russia.

The U.S. has been pushing for the upgrade for months as it sees the manufacturing dynamo as a key country in its strategy to secure global supply chains from China-related risks.

A half-century after a lengthy and brutal Cold War-era conflict, Biden arrived in Hanoi to a ceremony organised by the ruling Communist Party that included school children waving American flags and honour guards carrying bayoneted rifles.

Biden noted the strides that had been taken toward improved ties.

“We can trace a 50-year arc of progress between our nations, from conflict to normalization, to this new elevated status,” he said.

Vietnam is having to navigate frosty relations between Washington and Beijing as it seeks its own foothold in the international economic competition.

Top Chinese officials, possibly including President Xi Jinping, are expected to visit Vietnam in the coming days or weeks, officials and diplomats said, as Hanoi seeks to maintain good relations with all super powers.

It also comes as Vietnam’s longstanding relationship with Russia faces tests over the war in Ukraine, including talks with Russia over a new arms supply deal that could trigger U.S. sanctions.

Reuters has seen documents describing talks for a credit facility that Russia would extend to Vietnam to buy heavy weaponry, including anti-ship missiles, antisubmarine aircraft and helicopters, antiaircraft missile systems and fighter jets.

One of them, a letter sent in May by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to the Russian government, showed interest in the possible new deal.

A Vietnamese military officer confirmed the authenticity of the letter and the talks for a new $8 billion credit facility to buy heavy weaponry.

A spokesperson for Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the documents, which show Moscow pushing for months for a loan deal that would bypass Western sanctions on Moscow.

Hanoi is in similar talks with multiple arms suppliers including the United States. In recent weeks, Vietnam has engaged in several high-level defence meetings with top Russian officials.

The upgrade will include a security dimension, Jon Finer, the U.S. principal deputy national security adviser, told reporters on Sunday, while on the plane with Biden to Vietnam from a Group of 20 summit in India.

He said he had no arms deals to announce at this stage but stressed that the U.S. and its partners could offer Vietnam help to diversify away from Russian military supplies, an offer which he said Vietnam was receptive to.

That would help Vietnam reduce military reliance on Moscow, “a relationship we think they are increasingly uncomfortable with,” Finer said.

Biden’s visit comes as bilateral trade and investment ties are growing and a long-simmering territorial dispute between Vietnam and China heats up in the South China Sea.

Highlighting Vietnam’s growing importance as a “friendshoring” destination for U.S. technology companies, executives from Google, Intel, Amkor, Marvell, GlobalFoundries and Boeing are expected to meet on Monday with Vietnamese tech executives and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Hanoi.

Full details on the U.S.-Vietnam deal have yet to be released.

Still, semiconductors are the centrepiece of an action plan adopted during Biden’s visit, a U.S. official said.

Besides possible announcements by U.S. corporations, it is unclear how significant the U.S. administration’s contribution to the sector could be, having only $100 million a year for five years available under the CHIPS Act to support semiconductor supply chains globally. A large part of it could go to Vietnam, officials said.

More support to train skilled workers is also part of the deal, as Vietnam faces a major shortage of engineers in the chips sector.

Another key issue is strengthening supply chains of critical minerals, especially rare earths, of which Vietnam has the world’s largest deposits after China, according to U.S. estimates, officials said.

Two people familiar with the plans said an agreement on rare earths was expected during Biden’s visit, which ends on Monday when he flies back to America.

Details, however, are scant. Past attempts by U.S. companies to partner with Vietnamese rare earth firms have not succeeded, according to a person involved in one recent plan.

Human rights remain a controversial issue, with U.S. officials regularly criticising Hanoi for jailing activists and limiting freedom of expression. Vietnam may show goodwill, with diplomats suggesting activists could be freed.

---

Rishi Sunak challenges premier Li after ‘spying for China’ arrests

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/10/rishi-sunak-challenges-premier-li-after-spying-for-china-arrests

Rishi Sunak has challenged the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, over Chinese interference in the UK parliament, after two men were arrested amid allegations that a parliamentary researcher spied for Beijing.

The prime minister met Li on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi in an unplanned meeting hours after the Sunday Times revealed the researcher, who is understood to have had links to senior Conservative MPs, had been arrested along with another man.

Downing Street said after the meeting: “The prime minister met premier Li Qiang and conveyed his significant concerns about Chinese interference in the UK’s parliamentary democracy.”

According to Chinese media, Li told Sunak the two countries “should properly handle disagreements, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns”.

Sunak and Li had not planned to meet during the G20, despite signs of a thaw in relations between the two countries.

Last month, James Cleverly became the first foreign secretary in five years to visit China and said during the visit that it would not be “credible” to disengage with Beijing.

Sunak, meanwhile, has angered China hawks in his own party by refusing to say the country is a threat to Britain. He said earlier this year: “I don’t think it’s kind of smart or sophisticated foreign policy to reduce our relationship with China – which after all is a country with one and a half billion people, the second biggest economy, and member of the UN security council.”

The prime minister has also refused to rule out inviting China to his summit on artificial intelligence later this year.

The latest row over Chinese espionage at the heart of British democracy risks damaging any detente between the two countries, however.

The Sunday Times said the researcher, who is in his 20s, and another man in his 30s had been arrested in March. The man, who is a UK citizen, reportedly had links to Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee, and Tom Tugendhat, the security minister.

Officers from the Metropolitan police’s counter terrorism command, which oversees espionage-related offences, are investigating.

The man in his 30s was arrested in Oxfordshire on 13 March , while the man in his 20s was arrested in Edinburgh, Scotland Yard said. Both were held on suspicion of offences under section one of the Official Secrets Act 1911, which punishes offences that are said to be “prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state”.

“Searches were also carried out at both the residential properties, as well as at a third address in east London,” a statement from the force said. Both men were held at a south London police station until being bailed until early October.

Tugendhat is said not to have had any contact with the researcher since before he became security minister in September last year.

Kearns declined to comment, adding: “While I recognise the public interest, we all have a duty to ensure any work of the authorities is not jeopardised.”

Both Kearns and Tugendhat have angered Beijing in recent years. Kearns has made a number of remarks about the threat China poses to British security and sovereignty. Meanwhile, Tugendhat infuriated the Chinese government earlier this year when he met the Taiwanese digital minister in the UK. China considers Taiwan part of its own territory.

A Whitehall source told the Sunday Times: “This is a major escalation by China. We have never seen anything like this before.”

The arrests follow several high-profile warnings about Chinese spying in the UK.

In July, the Commons intelligence and security committee warned China was targeting Britain “prolifically and aggressively”. MPs on the committee also warned the government did not have the “resources, expertise or knowledge” to tackle the threat.

US, Vietnam to boost ties as Biden visits, seek China hedge with chips, rare earths

https://reuters.com/article/vietnam-usa-biden/us-vietnam-to-boost-ties-as-biden-visits-seek-china-hedge-with-chips-rare-earths-idUSKBN30F0GR

HANOI/NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Vietnam plan to elevate their relations as U.S. President Joe Biden visits the country from Sunday, with officials saying the focus of the talks will be semiconductors and critical minerals.

The U.S. has been pushing for the upgrade for months as it sees the Southeast Asian manufacturing dynamo as a key country in its strategy to secure global supply chains from China-related risks.

The overhaul may be shadowed, however, by a New York Times report on Saturday that Vietnam was in talks with Russia over a new arms supply deal that could trigger U.S. sanctions.

The report cites a March Vietnamese finance ministry document laying out plans for Hanoi to pay to modernise its forces through a Vietnamese-Russian oil venture in Siberia.

Reuters has seen, but not been able to authenticate, documents describing talks for a credit facility that Russia would extend to Vietnam to buy heavy weaponry, including anti-ship missiles, antisubmarine aircraft and helicopters, antiaircraft missile systems and fighter jets.

A spokesperson for Vietnam’s foreign ministry has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the documents, which show Moscow pushing for months for a loan deal that would bypass Western sanctions on Moscow, and Vietnam showing “interest”.

Hanoi is in similar talks with multiple arms suppliers including the U.S. It is unclear how far those talks have evolved.

In recent weeks, Vietnam has engaged in several high-level defence meetings with top Russian officials.

A half-century after a lengthy and brutal war, the U.S. is expected to elevate Vietnam to the same diplomatic tier as China and Russia, Biden and other U.S. officials said. Vietnamese officials have shown optimism about the expected upgrade, despite initial concerns over how giant neighbour China would react.

After a Group of 20 summit in India, Biden is to arrive at Vietnam’s Presidential Palace on Sunday afternoon for a formal welcome from Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s most powerful leader, then go to party headquarters, where the two will meet and give public remarks.

The visit comes as bilateral trade and investment ties are growing and a long-simmering territorial dispute between Vietnam and China heats up in the South China Sea.

Highlighting Vietnam’s growing importance as a “friendshoring” destination for U.S. technology companies, executives from Google, Intel, Amkor, Marvell, GlobalFoundries and Boeing are expected to meet on Monday with Vietnamese tech executives and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Hanoi.

Semiconductors are the centrepiece of an action plan to be adopted during Biden’s visit, adding concrete deliverables to the diplomatic upgrade, a U.S. official said. Many see the upgrade so far as symbolic because the Washington already effectively has close ties with Hanoi.

Besides possible announcements by U.S. corporations, it is unclear how significant the U.S. administration’s contribution to the sector could be, having only $100 million a year for five years available under the CHIPS Act to support semiconductor supply chains globally. A large part of it could go to Vietnam, officials said.

More support to train skilled workers is also expected, as Vietnam faces a major shortage of engineers in the chips sector.

Another key issue is strengthening supply chains of critical minerals, especially rare earths, of which Vietnam has the world’s largest deposits after China, according to U.S. estimates, officials said.

Two people familiar with the plans said an agreement on rare earths was expected during Biden’s visit, which ends on Monday when he flies back to America.

Details, however are scant. Past attempts by U.S. companies to partner with Vietnamese rare earth firms have not succeeded, according to a person involved in one recent plan.

Trade may also be discussed, as Vietnam’s trade surplus with the U.S. trails only those of China and Mexico.

Human rights remain a controversial issue, with U.S. officials regularly criticising Hanoi for jailing activists and limiting freedom of expression. Vietnam may show goodwill, with diplomats suggesting activists could be freed.

[Blogs] The Papers: 'Chinese spy arrest' and 'hell on earth' after quake

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-66765809?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA