Outsiders Are Misreading the Significance of Xi’s SE Asian Tour, Says Chatham House Analyst

Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim warned against "economic tribalism" in a veiled swing to Washington, praising Xi Jinping's conduct as a model of steadiness.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim greets Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival in Kuala Lumpur on April 15, 2025. Image via @anwaribrahim.

The fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia this week coincided with a dramatic escalation in the U.S. trade war with much of the world is probably coincidental.

These kinds of state visits are planned months in advance, well before anyone in this region could have anticipated that U.S. President Donald Trump would upend the global trading system the way he did with his so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs.

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by Eric Olander

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