NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will

hold talks with Vietnam's president and ruling Communist Party

chief To Lam on Wednesday as the U.S. leader closes out his

final appearance at a United Nations General Assembly in New

York.

The meeting, on the sidelines of the annual gathering of

world leaders, is part of Biden's push to deepen relations with

the strategic Southeast Asian country and manufacturing hub and

counter China and Russia, with which Vietnam also retains ties.

With four months left to his presidency, Biden in his

valedictory U.N. speech on Tuesday urged support for Ukraine in

its battle against Russia and called for a diplomatic solution

to a rise in Middle East hostilities.

To Lam, making his first visit to the U.S. as president, met

in New York on Monday with representatives of U.S. companies

operating in Vietnam, including Amazon ( AMZN ), Procter & Gamble ( PG ) and

Visa.

He asked business leaders to back Hanoi's bid to have

Washington remove it from the list of non-market economies and

lift other trade restrictions and for the U.S. and Vietnam to

cooperate on semiconductor supply chains.

Ted Osius, president and CEO of the US-ASEAN Business

Council and a former U.S. ambassador to Hanoi, told Reuters that

To Lam had long engaged with U.S. officials.

"This (To Lam) is a guy who has seen the opportunities of

the U.S. relationship for a long time," Osius said.

Biden visited Vietnam a year ago and secured deals on

semiconductors and minerals and an upgrade in diplomatic ties

between the countries.