Vietnam and the European Union have upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, placing the EU alongside China, the United States and Russia among Hanoi’s highest-level partners. President Luong Cuong called the move a historical milestone during talks in Hanoi with European Council President Antonio Costa, who stressed the upgrade reflects Vietnam’s growing regional role and the need for reliable, predictable partners amid pressures on the rules-based international order.
Costa, whose European Council includes EU heads of state and the European Commission president, arrived in Hanoi on January 29 and was among the first foreign leaders to meet Communist Party chief To Lam after his re-election. He reiterated the EU’s commitment to deepen ties, invoking shared values and mutual goals and noting 35 years of evolving cooperation.
Trade is at the heart of the relationship. Vietnam is the EU’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia: bilateral trade rose roughly 50% between 2019 and 2024 to about €67 billion ($79 billion), and data for the first ten months of 2025 show continued growth of around 8.4% year-on-year. The upgraded partnership is expected to create more regular channels for dialogue and cooperation across a wider agenda.
Analysts note Brussels has arrived at this level of engagement later than others: China, Russia, the US, Japan and Singapore have already established comparable high-level ties with Vietnam. Hanoi has deliberately pursued multiple comprehensive partnerships to avoid overdependence on any single power, a strategy often called bamboo diplomacy that emphasizes flexibility and strategic autonomy. The US remains Vietnam’s largest export market, China a close partner despite South China Sea tensions, and Russia an important supplier of military hardware.
Experts say the new status is both symbolic and practical. Alfred Gerstl, an Indo-Pacific specialist at the University of Vienna, said it opens opportunities for more sustained exchanges. Khac Giang Nguyen, a visiting fellow at ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, argued that disruptions in global trade policies have nudged partners like the EU and Vietnam closer, as both have a stake in preserving a rules-based trading system.
The EU-Vietnam joint statement extends cooperation beyond trade to areas such as critical raw materials, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, transport and secure communications infrastructure. Both sides pledged to boost supply-chain resilience and step up collaboration on security and defense.
Political and rights-related tensions, however, remain a recurring source of friction. The EU-Vietnam free trade agreement, in force since 2020, included expectations that Vietnam would allow independent trade unions. Rights groups and labor experts say genuinely independent unions still do not operate freely, and observers report increased repression of domestic critics since To Lam returned to power. A leaked 2023 Politburo directive warned of foreign-influenced civil society networks and independent unions as potential threats, a development critics say has justified tighter controls.
Some analysts warn Hanoi may view the upgraded ties as a way to blunt EU pressure for political reforms, reducing Brussels’ leverage on issues such as civic space. Bill Hayton of Chatham House suggested the move could dilute European influence on human rights and labor matters.
Differences also persist over Russia and the war in Ukraine. Costa acknowledged divergences but noted agreement on principles like independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty. Vietnam has continued to prioritize relations with Russia even when that risks straining ties with Western partners; planned projects such as a nuclear power deal with Russia underscore Hanoi’s careful balancing. Observers expect the EU may push Vietnam to use its influence with Moscow, but Vietnam has shown reluctance to take sides.
Since articulating bamboo diplomacy in 2016, Vietnam has aimed to avoid being drawn into great-power rivalries while pursuing rapid economic growth and broader diplomatic outreach. The new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the EU marks a significant milestone: it cements deeper economic and strategic cooperation for Brussels and enlarges Hanoi’s room for maneuver, but it is unlikely to change Vietnam’s broader non-aligned approach.