Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for upholding multilateral trade as he landed in Vietnam as part of a high-stakes tour of Southeast Asia's most export-reliant economies as he looks to capitalize on global trade tensions with the United States.
The three-country visit, which begins with a two-day state visit to Vietnam on April 14, will also take Xi to Malaysia and Cambodia as he aims to emphasize China as a stable partner in contrast to the United States, which has imposed and then suspended punishing tariffs across the region and roiled global markets.
"There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars, and protectionism has no way out," Xi wrote in an article published in Vietnamese state media ahead of his visit, without mentioning the United States specifically.
The Chinese leader also urged strengthening coordination and cooperation through regional initiatives, such as the East Asia Cooperation and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, which he called necessary to "inject more stability and positive energy into a chaotic and intertwined world."
Beijing and Hanoi signed 45 agreements, although the contents of all the deals have not yet been disclosed. Xi expected to attend the launch ceremony for a new $8-billion railway project connecting Vietnam and China on April 15. The venture is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure development strategy.
While planned ahead of the announcement of global US tariffs, the tour now forms part of a broader Chinese charm offensive launched in the wake of a growing trade war that saw US President Donald Trump hit China with 145 percent tariffs and Beijing respond with a 125 percent tit-for-tat move on US goods.
Before receiving a 90-day reprieve on "reciprocal" US tariffs, Vietnam and Cambodia were hit with 46 percent and 49 percent tariffs, respectively, and both countries are walking a tightrope in their relations between China and the United States, both of which are important economic partners.
China is also looking for inroads in Europe amid the tariff tumult. Xi hosted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on April 11, where he said China and the European Union should "jointly oppose unilateral acts of bullying."
Similarly, Chinese premier Li Qiang spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week when they both emphasized the need for a "strong reformed trading system, free, fair, and founded on a level playing field," according to a readout.
"US tariffs were seen as truly existential, and while we're in a pause on the retaliatory tariffs, there's still this pervading sense of uncertainty around the threat of future tariffs," said Kaitlyn Garman, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
"You can see short- and long-term scenarios where policy decisions will need to be assessed through the lens of the potential that this opens up another point of confrontation with the United States and risks an escalating trade war," she added.
Tariffs Ignite A Delicate Balancing Act in Southeast Asia
Trump has said his goal in unleashing tariffs is to eliminate the US trade deficit once and for all, which he says will help lure more manufacturing back to the United States, creating jobs at home and staunching the flow of US money to China.
But the tariffs also appear to be a negotiating tool for Washington to remake its trade relationships with much of the world.
Some 70 countries are said to currently be negotiating tariff relief with Washington, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week they should "approach China as a group" together with the United States.
Many countries across Asia, however, are also grappling with being slapped by soaring tariffs and debating how to respond in the event that they could be reinstated to their full level after the 90-day pause ends.
It's against this backdrop that Beijing is looking to gain ground with its strategic neighbors in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam and many others in the region have traditionally sought to avoid taking sides between China and the United States. Washington is a crucial export market for southeast Asia and a security partner that serves as a counterbalance to China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
However, trade in the region is closely intertwined with China, with countries from the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), counting as the biggest recipient of Chinese exports last year, according to China's customs data.
Vietnam is in the process of looking to negotiate its trade relationship with the Trump administration and has already sent Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc to Washington, who promised to buy more US goods, including defense systems, as it looks to avoid the 46 percent levy being reintroduced.
Exports to the United States account for 30 percent of Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) and the country has received a boost in recent years as many companies moved there from China to skirt tariffs imposed by Washington.
China Looks For Diplomatic Inroads Elsewhere
Beijing has cast a wide net as it has looked to capitalize diplomatically in the aftermath of US tariffs.
Last week, China held video calls with Malaysia, as well as Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Xi also vowed to deepen China's strategic partnership with Indonesia in a call with that country's president, Prabowo Subianto, on April 13.
Brussels also announced that it plans to host an EU-China summit in July, and the bloc said last week that it agreed to restart talks with Beijing to settle a dispute over Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports, which the EU hit with tariffs in 2024.
Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez's recent visit to Beijing also made headlines when he called for Europe to review its relationship with China as it adapts to a new reality with the United States. Those comments were met with a rebuke from US Treasury Secretary Bessent, who warned that cooperating with Beijing would be "cutting your own throat."
Analysts say a rapprochement between Brussels and Beijing is not in the cards given that China's support of Russia amid its war in Ukraine has deeply damaged relations with the bloc.
But Trump's tariffs threats, as well disagreements over US diplomacy over how to end the war in Ukraine, are also leading European governments to adjust their foreign policies, which could see them forge closer trading partnerships with other "like-minded" partners in Asia like India, Japan, and South Korea, and elsewhere in Europe with Norway and Britain.
"Europe will invest into robustly promoting trade through a like-minded partners approach," said Reinhard Butikofer, a former Member of the European Parliament. "The European Union will pursue a very active trade policy and try to strike new trade deals."
