China and Vietnam should work on developing stable industrial supply chains between the two countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday in a phone call with the head of the Vietnamese Communist Party.

The Vietnam government said late on Wednesday that it will consider removing regulatory hurdles to allow aircraft manufactured by Chinese state-owned planemaker COMAC to operate in the country.

President Xi Jinping has called on China and Vietnam to maintain close high-level exchanges, push for more outcomes of bilateral cooperation, and promote people-to-people exchanges, as the two countries usher in the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year.

Vietnam recorded more than 17.5 million international visitors in 2024, a 39.5% increase compared to 2023. Mainland China was the country’s second-largest source market, contributing 3.7 million visitors, trailing only South Korea, which accounted for 4.5 million arrivals.

Vietnam and Russia signed an agreement on nuclear energy and several cooperation deals on Tuesday during a visit to Hanoi by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

In a heated Senate confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, Sen. Tammy Duckworth grilled the proposed defense secretary over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, asking him if he could name one m

Caught off guard, the Philippines’ only available counter was to run a U.S.-donated World War II-era Navy ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, aground at nearby Second Thomas Shoal in 1999. As we will see below, this makeshift military outpost would become a key flashpoint in the years to come.

China’s quest to feed itself has taken it as far as Kenya’s macadamia nut groves and Bolivia’s cattle ranches, as part of a push in recent years to diversify food sources away from traditional Western suppliers.

Hegseth responded at the heated Senate confirmation hearing that he couldn’t tell Duckworth the exact number of ASEAN nations, but that “I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS (a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.) with Australia.”