On the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour, President Xi arrived in Vietnam on 14th April. He warned that protectionism ‘leads nowhere’ and that a trade war would have ‘no winners.’ He added that Vietnam and China should “resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains and open and cooperative international environment. 

Source: fortune

Mainland China was Vietnam’s third largest source of foreign investment in 2024, behind Singapore and South Korea. The world’s second largest economy is also reportedly Cambodia’s largest foreign investor and the third largest investor in Malaysia for approved investments. Xi said that it is important that both Vietnam and China “promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation.” He also called for deeper cooperation between the two countries, including business cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, saying “China welcomes more quality Vietnamese products in the Chinese market and encourages more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Vietnam.“

He added that the two sides should increase cooperation in areas like industrial and supply chains, as well as “emerging” ones such as 5G, artificial intelligence and green development. Xi also urged the two sides to work with the Global South “to uphold the common interests of developing countries.” A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 14th April to boost cooperation between the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which issues certificates on the origins of goods. Xi will continue his Southeast Asian trip by visiting Malaysia and Cambodia from 15th to 18th April. He last visited Cambodia and Malaysia nine and 12 years ago, respectively. 

Xi's trip to Hanoi is his second in less than 18 months. It aims to consolidate relations with a neighbour that has received billions of dollars of Chinese investments in recent years as China-based manufacturers moved south to avoid tariffs imposed by the first Trump administration.