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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Chinese Coast Guard ships fire water cannons at Unaizah May 4, a Philippine Navy chartered vessel, conducting a routine resupply mission to troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal, on March 5, 2024, in the South China Sea. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

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.

Tensions between Beijing and Manila have intensified in recent months concerning the South China Sea, a region spanning 3.5 million square kilometers (1.35 million square miles) through which an estimated $11.3 billion in global trade passes annually, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth grilled proposed defense secretary Pete Hegseth over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, asking him if he could name a single member.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth put Pete Hegseth’s foreign policy chops to the test during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday as President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon. The Illinois