Xi39;s visit to follow Biden39;s in September
China with HK is top investor in Vietnam this year
U.S. investment, trade have so far dropped in 2023

HANOI, Dec 8 Reuters Chinese investments in Vietnam have boomed this year in contrast to a slowdown in U.S. spending and trade, official data show, as the world39;s two largest economies vie for influence in the strategic Southeast Asian country.

The manufacturing hub stretching along the South China Sea is increasingly a key assembling link in global supply chains that often rely on Chinese components and U.S. consumers.

U.S. President Joe Biden achieved an upgrade of diplomatic relations with the former foe in a visit to Hanoi in September, after a year of intense diplomatic efforts to elevate the United States to the same tier as China in Vietnam39;s ranking.

China39;s President Xi Jinping will travel to Vietnam next week with the aim of further deepening ties. He may agree to declare that the two countries share a common destiny, diplomats said, which could be interpreted in Beijing as a formal upgrade of diplomatic relations.

It is unclear which symbolic upgrade carries more weight, but in economic terms China appears to have had the upper hand so far, partly as a consequence of U.S. trade policy. Tensions between Washington and Beijing and various U.S.led sanctions on China in recent years have encouraged Chinese investment in Vietnam.

Registered investment from China and Hong Kong combined rose to 8.2 billion…