China's Xi Visits Vietnam In Bid To Counter US

China's President Xi Jinping arrived in Vietnam Tuesday for his first visit in six years, as he seeks to counter the United States' growing influence with the communist nation.

Xi will meet the leader of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, after Hanoi upgraded diplomatic ties with Washington when US President Joe Biden visited in September.

Biden's visit was part of US efforts around the world to contain China's rising economic power -- and to secure supplies of crucial materials needed for high-tech manufacturing.