France and Vietnam signed key agreements on Monday, including a deal for 20 Airbus planes, as President Emmanuel Macron visited Hanoi to deepen ties and expand France’s influence in the region.

The visit, Macron’s first to Vietnam and the first by a French president in nearly a decade, comes amid rising US-EU trade tensions after US President Donald Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs on EU goods. Vietnam also faces possible US tariffs of up to 46 percent, pressuring it to boost American imports, Firstpost reported.

The agreements covered aviation, nuclear energy, trains, satellites, and vaccines, with Airbus and Sanofi playing key roles. Both countries also promised to strengthen defense cooperation, including cybersecurity, intelligence sharing, and anti-terrorism operations.

Macron restated France's support for unrestricted navigation in the South China Sea, where Vietnam has conflicts with China, according to the Firstpost.

The visit is part of Macron’s Southeast Asia tour, which also includes Indonesia and Singapore.