Scholz Starts Asia Tour with Stop in Vietnam

On Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Vietnam at the start of a four-day trip to Asia, according to his spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.

Scholz was welcomed with military honors by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh before heading into talks with the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong.

The bilateral talks are said to focus on increasing economic ties between Germany and Vietnam. There will also be a round table with business leaders later in the afternoon. The Russian war in Ukraine is also on the agenda.

After meeting with Chinh, Scholz pressed his hosts to take a "clear position" on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

"It is a question of the Russian war of aggression being a breach of international law with a dangerous precedent. Small countries can no longer be safe from the behavior of their larger, more powerful neighbors," the German Chancellor said.

Vietnam is Germany's most important trading partner in Southeast Asia. More than 350 German companies invest in the rapidly growing Vietnamese economy, which has a population of nearly 100 million.

Scholz hopes to strengthen trade and diplomatic relations to balance German interests in Asia to reduce dependence on China while highlighting that German foreign policy sees Asia as having more than China.

Russia is the main supplier of arms to Vietnam and the two countries are cooperating in developing offshore oil and gas fields in Vietnam. 

Vietnam was one of only five countries that abstained from voting on a UN resolution on the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia.

On Monday, Scholz is scheduled to travel to Singapore where he is scheduled to attend an economic conference alongside German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.