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US-Vietnam relations: Biden’s ‘friendshoring’ chips push hits a snag as Hanoi ‘cannot decouple from China’
- The US president hailed the deals done on his recent Hanoi trip as ‘critical’ to creating a ‘more resilient’ semiconductor supply chain
- But Vietnam has a critical shortage of tech talent, analysts say – and its supply chains are still heavily reliant on China for imported components
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Even as the United States seeks to boost Vietnam’s capabilities as a manufacturer of semiconductors and other goods, analysts say Washington should be mindful of the Southeast Asian nation’s chronic shortage of tech talent and continued supply chain dependence on China.
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During US President Joe Biden’s recent two-day visit to Vietnam, the two countries upgraded their diplomatic relations and agreed on billions of dollars of business deals, led by the likes of Boeing, Microsoft and Nvidia.
Biden described the moves to strengthen cooperation in “critical” technologies such as chips and artificial intelligence as attempts to build “a more resilient semiconductor supply chain”.
“We’re expanding our economic partnership, spurring even greater trade and investment between our nations,” Biden said on Sunday at a joint press conference with Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam.
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Joe Biden says US and Vietnam ‘deepening cooperation’
Joe Biden says US and Vietnam ‘deepening cooperation’
Responding to Washington’s hopes of reducing the semiconductor sector’s exposure to China-related risks, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the development of bilateral relations should not “target third parties”.
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