Biden heads to Vietnam in latest push to counter China

President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam this weekend may be short, but it has major implications for American efforts to push back against China.

Vietnam, a one-party communist state that borders China, has emerged as one of the United States’ most important partners in Southeast Asia, a region on the front line of the competition between the world’s two largest economies.

Washington and Hanoi normalized relations in 1995, 22 years after the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and have been “comprehensive partners” since 2013. During Biden’s visit, the relationship is expected...