Xi Warns Protectionism ‘Leads Nowhere’ as Starts SE Asia Tour

A man reads a local newspaper with a front page file photo showing To Lam, general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping, ahead of Xi's visit to Vietnam in Hanoi on April 14, 2025. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)

By Alice Philipson with Mary Yang in Beijing

Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned Monday that protectionism “leads nowhere” and that a trade war would have “no winners,” state media said, as he was due to kick off a tour of Southeast Asia with a visit to Vietnam.

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