Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said yesterday he hopes to build trust and create more opportunities to improve relations between one-time foes as they mark the 20th anniversary of normalised diplomatic ties. They are also being brought closer together by shared concerns over China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The White House said Trong would arrive on Tuesday and the leaders would discuss trade, human rights and defence cooperation. It did not confirm a visit by Obama to Vietnam, which would be his first.
Trong, 71, hosted a small group of Western journalists on Friday, and his staff provided his written answers to questions posed in advance.
"Like in any relations between two countries in the world, Vietnam and the US have differences on a number of issues such as perception on democracy, human rights and trade," Trong wrote in his reply to questions from The Associated Press.
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"To resolve differences, I believe the most effective way would be open and constructive dialogues to better understand each other so that differences won't become hurdles to the overall bilateral relations," he wrote.
Trong is considered to be in the leadership's conservative camp, tilting more toward strong ties with China. Both Vietnam and the United States are seeking to strengthen their relationship as a way of dealing with strategic and economic challenges.