Hello, this is Business Weekly with Lucy Burton. Welcome to the program. Whilst the eyes of

the world are on Afghanistan and the US withdrawal, the American Vice President is trying to generate

some headlines of her own on a charm offensive in Southeast Asia. In just a moment, we'll hear what she's been

saying and what she hopes to achieve. We'll also head to Zambia, where a new president has been

sworn in, and we'll have an interview with Nobel laureate Professor Richard Thaler, better

known as the man who invented Nudge Theory. Let's begin, though, in Vietnam, where Kamala Harris landed this week

after visiting Singapore. In both countries, she made speeches critical of China and promised

that the US would stand with its allies in the face of threats. But as shocking images of people

crowding around the airport in Kabul, desperate to flee Afghanistan, continued to be shared around

the world, Ms Harris faces some uncomfortable comparisons in Vietnam. Photos from 46 years ago, which

captured the fool of Saigon, don't look all that unfamiliar. But here she is, speaking in

Hanoi, promising to support what are now American allies.

We will work closely with Vietnam to uphold the rule-based international order,

including freedom of navigation, an issue that we take seriously,

and including as it relates to the South China Sea.

We need to find ways to pressure and raise the pressure, frankly, on Beijing,

to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and to challenge its bullying

and excessive maritime claims. Both the US and Vietnam hope to strengthen trade ties between the two countries.

Vietnam is already one of the biggest exporters of textiles and electronics to the US,

and the countries are big market for American farmers.

Lien Huang is a correspondent for Niki Asia based in Ho Chi Minh's city.

She told the BBC more about trade relations between the two countries.

...