Hanoi leader braces for U.S. critics
HANOI - Bracing himself for criticism of the Vietnamese human rights record, President Nguyen Minh Triet said Wednesday that he would keep his eye firmly on trade and investment when he visits the United States next week.
The first Vietnamese head of state to visit Washington since the Vietnam War ended 32 years ago, he is a longtime proponent of his country's economic liberalization and integration into the world economy.
In an interview at the presidential palace, Triet said he would lobby for tighter economic ties in meetings with President George W. Bush, members of Congress and business leaders.
"We really want the United States to increase its investment in terms of high technology in Vietnam," he said, "and we want the United States to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese goods in the United States market."
He bristled, though, over recent criticisms of the arrests and trials of several dissidents that threaten to overshadow the broader positive relations that have made visits like this one less and less remarkable.
"Vietnam has experienced war and understands well the loss of human rights and freedom," he said. "Therefore we really love the fundamental rights of man and respect human rights. But if anyone violates the law we have to punish them."
Since this nation of 84 million people stepped onto the world stage as host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum last fall, it has conducted a roundup of a number of dissidents, most recently sentencing two activist lawyers to long jail terms last month.
The White House said Bush would "express his deep concern" over the issue, and some critics in the United States lobbied for canceling the visit.
The visit is significant given the opposition it has faced, several Vietnamese and foreign analysts said.
"It strengthens the hands of the outward-looking reform types in the government," said Jonathan Pincus, the senior country economist for the UN Development Program. "It shows Vietnam that the United States is a reliable and mature partner. That is hugely important to Vietnam."
One strong motivation to proceed, on both sides, is cementing their relationship in the context of the growing political and economic weight of Vietnam's northern neighbor, China.
Le Dang Doanh, a leading economist, said: "It is very important that the visit could take place because if not, the big neighbors to the north could try to push harder on Vietnam. And this is not good for the stability of the region and not good at all for Vietnam."
Vietnam has carefully balanced its relations between the United States and China; in advance of his trip to Washington, Triet visited Beijing last month.
"The two countries have a common target to build socialism," he said of China in the interview. "Therefore, we want to enhance cooperation in many areas with China. As you know, China is a nation that goes farther than Vietnam, so Vietnam wants to learn from China's lessons in development."
The United States is the largest Vietnamese trading partner, with an increasing two-way trade that rose to $7.8 billion in 2005 from $1.5 billion in 2001, according to the Vietnamese government.
But Triet said he would lobby for more high-technology investment, saying U.S. investment still lags as bilateral ties have developed. "Now, trade and investment relations development is not commensurate with the politics of the two countries," he said.
The United States ended a trade embargo in 1994 and established diplomatic relations with Vietnam the next year. In 2001, the nations signed a trade agreement that was called the final step in postwar normalization of relations.
Last fall, with strong U.S. support, Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization.
The bilateral relationship has flourished in areas that include trade and business, military contacts, education and health care issues like bird flu and AIDS. But last year, Vietnam listed the United States as only its 11th largest foreign investor, with licensed projects whose total capital was $1.7 billion.
Triet is seen as an outward-looking member of the Vietnamese hierarchy. A southerner who was party chief in Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon, he is known for supporting private enterprise and foreign investment.
He made his reputation as the chief of what is now Binh Duong Province, a landlocked area just north of Ho Chi Minh City that has few advantages for development. By relaxing conditions for private and foreign investment at a time when these were new and controversial policies, he created what is now one of the most prosperous regions in the country.
"He broke the mold," Pincus said. "He was able to change the way things are governed. So he has street cred among reformers."
By Seth Mydans - The International Herald Tribune - June 13, 2007.
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