US visit by Vietnam’s To Lam to be showcase of great power balancing – if he meets Biden

Lam, who assumed the presidency in May and control of the Communist Party of Vietnam in August, would be making a working visit to the US and taking part in the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the government said on Thursday.

During his visit, Lam will meet representatives from several US corporations, including Alphabet’s Google and Facebook owner Meta, on Monday, according to a Reuters report.

Neither the Vietnamese foreign ministry nor a separate government statement has indicated whether Lam would meet Biden during the trip.

Zachary Abuza, a Southeast Asia affairs expert and a professor at the National War College in Washington, said while it was not essential for the two leaders to meet, it would be “a missed opportunity” for Hanoi without such a meeting.