China's leader Xi Jinping said no one wins in a trade war as he kicked off a diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia on Monday, presenting China as a force for stability in contrast with President Trump's latest moves on tariffs. Although Trump has paused some tariffs, he has kept in place 145% duties on China, the world's second-largest economy. "There are no winners in a trade war, or a tariff war," Xi wrote in an editorial jointly published in Vietnamese and Chinese official media, per the AP. "Our two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment."
While Xi's trip, which started off in Vietnam, likely was planned earlier, it has become significant due to the tariff fight between China and the US. The visit offers a path for Beijing to shore up its alliances and find solutions for the high trade barrier that the US has imposed on Chinese exports. In Hanoi, Xi met with Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, his counterpart, as well as with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The two sides signed a series of memorandums in areas including strengthening cooperation in supply chains, railroad development, and environmental protection.
Xi's visit lets China show Southeast Asia it is a "responsible superpower in the way that contrasts with the way the US under President Donald Trump presents to the whole world," said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. The timing of the visit sends a "strong political message that Southeast Asia is important to China," added Huong Le-Thu of the International Crisis Group think tank.
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Vietnam has enjoyed a strong relationship with the US. China and Vietnam, meanwhile, have real long-term differences, including territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where Vietnam has faced off with China's coast guard. The intensification of the trade war has put Vietnam in a "very precarious situation," given the impression in the US that Vietnam is serving as a back door for Chinese goods, said Giang. Vietnam had been hit with 46% tariffs under Trump's order before the 90-day pause. After Vietnam, Xi is expected to visit Malaysia, then Cambodia.
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