Xi Jinping has appealed to Vietnam to join China in upholding multilateral trade, as he begins a high-stakes diplomatic tour of the region\u2019s major export-reliant economies in a bid to position his country as a stable partner in contrast to the United States. <\/p>\n
Xi arrived in communist-ruled Vietnam on Monday and is set to visit Malaysia and Cambodia from Tuesday to Friday \u2013 countries that have seen growing trade and investment ties with China in recent years. <\/p>\n
The trip comes just days after US President Donald Trump paused his \u201creciprocal\u201d tariffs on most countries for 90 days \u2013 narrowing the focus on his trade war squarely on China. <\/p>\n
As Washington and Beijing exchange record-high levies, Southeast Asian nations \u2013 still catching their breath from the now-suspended US tariffs \u2013 are growing increasingly anxious about being caught in the crossfire between the world\u2019s two largest economies. <\/p>\n
Seeking to capitalize on the turmoil unleashed by Trump\u2019s tariff whiplash, Xi is expected to cast China as a reliable partner and defender of global trade. Vietnam and Cambodia were among the highest hit by Trump\u2019s tariffs, set at 46% and 49% respectively before the pause. <\/p>\n
But while countries are rolling out the red carpet for Xi, they also need to tread carefully \u2013 and avoid the appearance they are siding with China, and potentially risk provoking Trump during their own negotiations over pending tariffs. <\/p>\n
Some are wary of being flooded with cheap Chinese goods that are now shut out of the US markets due to the sky-high tariffs. China already runs a trade surplus with Vietnam, exporting 1.6 times the value it imports from its southern neighbor. <\/p>\n
As a bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has overtaken the US and the European Union as China\u2019s largest export market since 2023, according to Chinese customs data. <\/p>\n
In a signed article published Monday in Vietnam state media, Xi reiterated that there are no winners in a trade war or tariff war, and protectionism will lead nowhere. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment,\u201d Xi wrote, according to China\u2019s official state news agency Xinhua. <\/p>\n
Vietnam, a rising manufacturing powerhouse, has seen a surge in Chinese investments in recent years as manufactures move supply chains out of China to take advantage of lower labor costs and hedge against US levies. China\u2019s trade with Vietnam nearly doubled between 2017 and 2024, making the communist state China\u2019s biggest trade partner in Southeast Asia. <\/p>\n
While in Hanoi, Xi is expected to further strengthen those ties. The two countries are set to sign about 40 agreements across multiple sectors \u2013 including cooperation on railways, agricultural trade and the digital and green economy, Vietnam\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son said on Saturday, according to Reuters. <\/p>\n
Vietnam has approved plans to build a $8.3 billion railway linking its northern port city of Haiphong to China, which will be partially funded by Chinese loans. The country is also looking to purchase China\u2019s homegrown mainline passenger aircraft made by Chinese state-owned planemaker COMAC. <\/p>\n
Wen-ti Sung, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Xi\u2019s high-profile visit is two pronged: economically, it\u2019s about finding a way to diversify China\u2019s economic footprint around the world; on the foreign policy front, it\u2019s also aimed at pulling countries closer to China while they are unsettled by Trump\u2019s on-and-off-again tariffs. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Xi is trying to do now is to go there in person. Instead of fear and pressure, Xi is going to show them love, maybe some \u2018souvenirs\u2019 along the way,\u201d he said, referring to possible new trade deals and upgrades to their strategic partnerships. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll these are ways for China to show that I\u2019m on your side. It\u2019s safe to hang out with China, especially if you\u2019re concerned about the US.\u201d <\/p>\n
But relations between China and its neighbors have been strained in recent years, with tensions flaring over claims of disputed sovereignty in the South China Sea. In February, Chinese warships held live-fire drills in waters near Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China, after Hanoi published a map defining its territorial claims there. <\/p>\n
In his signed article in Vietnam\u2019s Nhan Dan Newspaper, Xi urged the two countries to \u201cproperly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe successful delimitation of our boundaries on land and in the Beibu Gulf demonstrates that with vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation,\u201d Xi was quoted as writing. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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