Xi Emphasizes Trade as He Kicks Off Southeast Asian Tour

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) speaks with Vietnam's President Luong Cuong (R) as he arrives for a two-day state visit at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport on April 14, 2025. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha / POOL / AFP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on Monday, the first visit in his tour of Southeast Asia. He was met by the country’s President Lu’o’ng Cu’ò’ng. Xi will also make stops in Malaysia and Cambodia. Trade will likely be the dominant theme of the tour, as U.S. tariffs threaten the dense regional supply chains China has built up with its neighbors.

“Trade wars and tariff wars yield no winners, and protectionism offers no solutions,” Xi said. He is expected to frame China as a stable partner and a bedrock of free trade as the region’s manufacturing economy is roiled by uncertainty amid the chaotic rollout of new trade restrictions by the Trump administration.

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by Cobus van Staden

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