A number of German papers recently ran stories highlighting Vietnam–US cooperative prospects on the occasion of the first US visit by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

The article “Vietnam and US inching closer together” by Rodion Ebbighausen on the e-newspaper Deutsche Welle described economic engagement as the "basis and engine" for bilateral ties through the comprehensive partnership agreement signed in 2013.

It said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal would form the centrepiece of the partnership, citing Peter Petri, an economist at Massachusetts' Brandeis University, as saying Vietnamese exports are estimated to jump by as much as 30 percent to 300 billion USD once the TPP agreement is completed. At the same time, foreign direct investment (FDI) is projected to climb two percent.

Despite their differences, Vietnam is a country of huge strategic importance for Washington D.C. since Obama's announcement of a US "pivot" to Asia, Erwin Schweisshelm of the German NGO Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Hanoi was quoted, adding that Vietnam wants to safeguard its foreign policy independence and does not intend to enter into a formal military alliance with another nation.

The article concluded that the visit would strengthen the foundation of US-Vietnamese relations.

The daily “Die Tageszeitung” also published an article by Sven Hansen portraying the visit as an opportunity to make economic and strategic breakthroughs, particularly in TPP negotiations.-VNA