The Vietnam-U.S. relationship has experienced its ups and downs as well as challenges. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1995, the relationship between the two countries has turned to a new page, the cooperation has increasingly developed across all fields. Notably, 2023 became a milestone when the two countries upgraded their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States, Sai Gon Giai Phong (SGGP) Newspaper had a brief interview with Mrs. Susan Burns, U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City.
U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns highly appreciated people with foresight on both sides which is essential in any form of reconciliation.
On the U.S. side, specific individuals like American veterans and well-known figures such as Senator John McCain, Senator John Kerry and Senator Patrick Leahy believed in and contributed to building the U.S.-Vietnam relationship.
Similarly, throughout its history, Vietnam has also had individuals who have been deeply committed to improving this relationship.
2025 marks the second year of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and the scope of the U.S.-Vietnam relationship spans multifaceted areas, especially U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns stated that the economic ties between the two countries are truly leading the way.
She also mentioned the two-way trade turnover, saying the two sides want to see more imports from the United States into Vietnam to match Vietnam’s exports to the U.S.
More and more American agricultural products, such as fruits and vegetables, are now on shelves in Vietnam. Moreover, there is even greater potential for high-tech products that the United States produces, including medical technology. Beyond energy, the import of liquefied natural gas from the United States into Vietnam is also a noteworthy sector.
Overall, the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral trade relationship is truly a great success story and a major part of the development of the two countries' ties. Educational cooperation is equally important. Currently, there are about 60 higher education partnerships between the United States and Vietnam. Many U.S. universities have established relationships with Vietnamese universities. Ms. Susan Burns believed that this is truly important because U.S. universities have strong experience in workforce training, able to help Vietnam achieve its goal of training thousands more semiconductor engineers by 2030 and becoming a high-income country by 2045.
Promoting Vietnam's development for shared prosperity
Talking about the role of the relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and U.S. cities, particularly the sister-city relationship with San Francisco, in Vietnam-U.S. relations, Ms. Susan Burns said that there are many individuals and organizations the two sides should thank for their contributions to the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and one of them is the sister-city relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and San Francisco. It was established very early, even before the two countries established diplomatic ties. She was very impressed by the relationship and support Ho Chi Minh City in establishing more sister-city partnerships with other cities in the United States.
Vietnam in general, and Ho Chi Minh City in particular have done an excellent job of attracting more and more Vietnamese Americans coming back and working in Vietnam. By chance, she joined a meeting with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee in 2024 along with American companies in the healthcare sector.
At that meeting, it was noted that each American healthcare company had a Vietnamese American leading it. Even Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan was very impressed by this, and she believed it is truly a tangible sign of the strong ties that have been built between the two nations, thanks to the partnerships that Ho Chi Minh City has developed with various cities and economic zones in the United States.
Assessing the readiness of the Vietnamese Government and enterprises to embrace advancements in the field of science and technology, as well as their cooperation with the United States, the U.S. Consul General said that there are several areas of cooperation that they can truly expand.
The United States also wants to promote high-tech equipment purchase to help modernize Vietnamese national defense forces. In addition, the U.S. is certainly strengthening cooperation in some fields that the Vietnamese Government is very interested in, including the semiconductor industry with the aim to focus on developing the workforce in this sector. This will benefit both the Vietnamese and U.S. economies. The ultimate goal is, of course, to enhance U.S. prosperity, by helping Vietnam grow and prosper as well.
According to her, they are very interested in certain policies necessary to help Vietnam continue the implementation of digital transformation. Therefore, they are committed to working with relevant sectors to advise the Vietnamese Government to ultimately achieve the set targets. Vietnam can take advantage of the rapidly changing global information landscape.
As for Ho Chi Minh City, the city aims to become an international financial services hub, which will require significant regulatory changes as the process of transferring funds in and out is currently very complicated. The US side wants to help simplify the processes so they are looking forward to working with the Ho Chi Minh City authorities to best support the city's efforts to become an international financial services hub.
Incredible transformation
Talking about Vietnam-U.S. relations over the past three decades, Consul General Susan Burns said she truly appreciated the opportunity to say a few words about the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam. She believed that the beginning of a dialogue between the U.S. and Vietnam centered around what they call “war legacy” issues, particularly Vietnam’s assistance in the search for missing American soldiers. The cooperation started even before 1995, and it laid the foundation for the two countries to begin communicating and rebuilding trust which was a crucial step toward establishing the diplomatic relations that the two sides have done.
Since then, the cooperation has expanded across numerous different areas. In particular, the bilateral trade has experienced incredible growth. The United States is now Vietnam’s largest export market. Looking back at the early days of the trade relations, in 1994 and early 1995, right after the U.S. lifted the trade embargo, the bilateral trade between two countries was estimated at US$451 million and the figure reaches nearly US$150 billion now. Therefore, this has truly been an incredible transformation in a very short period, as 30 years is not a very long time. In terms of people-to-people ties, a huge number of Americans chose Vietnam as one of the top destinations, and vice versa many Vietnamese are living, studying, and working in the United States which has truly strengthened the bilateral relationship.
The Consul General told recently she had a conversation on the topic 'The United States and Vietnam have moved from adversaries to partners, from enemies to friends' with some people working for an American company in Ho Chi Minh City. The role of the Vietnamese people has been crucial, particularly their remarkable capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness, which she finds truly astounding. In her view, most of the reconciliation results have come from the perspective of the Vietnamese people.
