Vietnam and China have agreed to boost trade and investment ties between the two countries during a meeting of the Prime Ministers of both countries on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brazil. The move came days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new trade deal with Vietnam that would slap a 20% tariff on all Vietnamese exports to the United States but also put a 40% levy on trans shipments through Vietnam from third countries.

In a statement, the Vietnamese government said that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Rio de Janeiro and decided to enhance their trade relations along with other strategic cooperation.