Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia aimed to emphasize Southeast Asia's importance to China due to strong trade and intergovernmental ties. The tour, while planned in advance, gained significance amid Donald Trump's escalating trade war. China positions itself as a source of stability in a volatile world, particularly as Asia faces the brunt of Trump's protectionist policies.
While avoiding direct mention of Washington, Xi stressed resistance to unilateral intimidation, protectionism, and hegemonism. He emphasized that there are no winners in trade wars, reiterating that protectionism is a dead end. This statement comes as Trump threatened tariffs as high as 245% on Chinese exports, countered by China's assertion that this has little economic impact due to previously imposed tariffs.
Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia are significant manufacturing centers for US imports. Trump's tariffs significantly impact these countries, despite a 90-day reprieve. There's increasing pressure to balance relations with the US and China, particularly with US plans to monitor goods re-exported through third countries.
Xi championed free trade and stressed cooperation and stability, emphasizing strong bilateral relationships. He highlighted agreements signed with Vietnam (45 agreements, including infrastructure projects), Malaysia (31 agreements, covering various sectors), and Cambodia, focusing on infrastructure development and counteracting criminal activities (mostly Chinese-run scams).
Vietnam, caught between China (main import source) and the US (main export destination), navigates relations carefully. Malaysia, too, praised China as a reliable ally. Xi's Cambodia visit aims to further strengthen ties, although Chinese foreign investment has decreased recently.
Throughout his tour, Xi consistently opposed hegemonism, power politics, and bloc confrontation, advocating for a multipolar, rules-based world and resisting protectionism.