US President Donald Trump has praised Vietnamese growth and plugged US business at a press conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang on a state visit to Hanoi.
The US president was formally welcomed on Sunday morning by President Tran Dai Quang in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi with American and Vietnamese flags flying.
"We are enthusiastic about economic reforms that promote economic prosperity for all Vietnamese citizens as we look to your growing middle class as a key market for American goods and services," said Trump, adding that he would welcome Vietnam's elimination of trade barriers.
"I am confident that American energy, agriculture, financial services, aviation, digital commerce and defence products are able to meet all of your many commercial needs, and in fact, not only meet them, but what we do is better than anybody else," added the US president.
A list of new trade deals with Vietnam was released prior to the meeting, including oil and natural gas exploration, aviation and transportation, although their monetary value was not disclosed.
Following the press briefing, Trump was holding meetings with Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam's de-facto head of government, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc before flying to Manila at 1 pm (5 pm AEDT).
Trump on Friday shared a vision of economic nationalism in Da Nang during a speech at the APEC summit, encouraging Asian nations to embrace patriotism.
"I am always going to put America first the same way I expect all of you in this room to put your countries first," said Trump, adding that he was keen on bilateral trade treaties with countries that "play by the rules."
Speaking briefly, President Quang thanked Trump and described the talks as "fruitful."
"The president's state visit to Vietnam marks a milestone in Vietnam-US relations, creating strong momentum for the substantive, effective and stable development of the bilateral comprehensive partnership," he said.
Trump will fly to Manilla on Sunday afternoon for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings and East Asia Summit, which will both be comprised of leaders from Southeast Asian nations and representatives from dialogue countries.
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