Vietnam to boost China ties

Vietnam’s new leader To Lam is hoping to bolster relations with China during his first overseas state visit this week. The three-day trip comes months after the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam’s anti-corruption purge roiled the country. Vietnam seemed like it would “follow China in a political inward turn” after hardliners triumphed in the power struggle, argued one Chatham House analyst.

But the country is unlikely to “give the US the cold shoulder,” an academic wrote in Chinese state tabloid The Global Times. Hanoi has enhanced security cooperation with Washington and expanded its island-building efforts to counter Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea.