As he began a political journey of Southeast Asia on Monday, China’s leader Xi Jinping said no one would win in a business war, contrasting that country with US President Donald Trump’s most recent tariff techniques.
Trump has put a stop to some of the country’s second-largest economies, China, into which he still has a 15 % duty.
In an editorial simultaneously published in Vietnamese and Chinese official media, Xi wrote,” There are no winners in a business war, or a tax war.” Our two nations must steadfastly protect the open and cooperative international atmosphere, robust global industrial and supply chains, and multilateral trading system.
Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting brother at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said that Xi’s attend allows China to demonstrate to Southeast Asia that it is a “responsible power in the way that contrasts with the way the U.S. presents to the entire world.”
Nguyen Thanh Trung, a teacher of Asian studies at Fulbright University Vietnam, said that Xi received a warm welcome on the tarmac from Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong at the start of his two-day explore, a gesture of respect not frequently given to customers. As ladies waved the red and yellow Chinese and Socialist Party colors, individuals from a drum craft party performed.
Due to the US-China tariff dispute, Xi’s trip, which was good planned before, has grown significant. The visit provides a way for Beijing to strengthen its alliances and address the country’s large trade lag that China has placed on Chinese exports.
Xi met with To Lam, the head of Vietnam’s Communist Party, in Hanoi, and his rival. China and Vietnam’s commitment to peaceful growth, the deepening of compassion, and cooperation have given the world important security and certainty in the current global environment, he said.
He even had a meeting with Pham Minh Chinh, the prime minister of Vietnam. The two parties agreed on a number of memorandums, whose facts were kept secret. In a February agreement, China and Vietnam may speed up a$ 8 billion rail project connecting the two nations, according to Nhan Dan, the Communist Party’s official spokesperson.
The timing of Xi’s visit sends a” powerful political text that Southeast Asia is important to China,” according to Huong Le-Thu of the International Crisis Group think container. East Asian countries were concerned that if Trump’s tariffs were implemented, they might find it difficult to advance their economies given the severity of their trade and the 90-day wait.
Vietnam has a wealth of experience in balancing its relations with China and the US. It operates in the same socialist, one-party system as China but has a strong relationship with the United States.
It was the only nation in 2023 to have Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden as guests. Additionally, in that year, it elevated the US to its highest political clout, comparable to that of China and Russia.
Businesses in Vietnam moved around as one of the main beneficiaries of nations ‘ efforts to detach their supply chains from China. China is its main trading partner, and according to Chinese state media, China-Vietnam trade increased 14.6 % year-on-year in 2024.
That business partnership has two sides.
Nguyen Khac Giang, an scientist at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said,” The journey to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia is all about how China can really protect itself against the from Trump,” noting that he has only been there twice since Xi became president in 2013.
Given that the US perceives Vietnam as a secret for Chinese goods, Giang claimed the increase of the trade conflict has put Vietnam in a “very vulnerable situation.” Before the 90-day pause, Vietnam had been hit with 46 % taxes as a result of Trump’s order.
Vietnam and China have deep, ongoing territorial issues, including territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where Vietnam has squared off against China’s beach guard but does not frequently make their problems public.
After Vietnam, Xi is anticipated to travel to Cambodia, Malaysia, and therefore Vietnam.
