In January 1995, Vietnam and the United States established "Liaison Offices" in Washington and Hanoi, the first such representation in the two countries since the end of the Vietnam War, when the US-backed South Vietnam fell to the Communist-controlled North. On 11 July, President Bill Clinton announced the normalisation of relations between the two countries, and the following month, both countries upgraded their Liaison Offices to Embassy status, with the United States later opening a consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City, while Vietnam opened a consulate in San Francisco, California.