WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday spoke with his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang over phone to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations.

The White House said in an announcement that the two leaders discussed bilateral defense relationship as well as regional security issues.

They also discussed trade issues, and pledged to ensure bilateral trade "fair and reciprocal," it added.

Xu Liping, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told Xinhua that the Washington-Hanoi defense cooperation has been haunted by both the severe lacking of mutual trust and their war-time history.

"The prospect for their further defense collaboration is quite limited, as can be proved by the U.S. rejection of Vietnam's offer to build strategic partnership," he said.