Bangkok – The XI of China is defending free trade while turning Southeast Asia this week, presenting China as a source of “stability and certainty.”
On Monday, he was welcome to Hanoi with POMP and ceremony by the president of Vietnam, Luong Cuong.
He arrived in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, later on Tuesday, for a three -day visit and will end his tour with a stop in Cambodia.
In Hanoi, XI had a meeting with the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam a Lam, where he said that the two countries “have brought the world valuable stability and certainty” in a “turbulent world.” He also asked for respects in the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
“As beneficiaries of economic globalization, both China and Vietnam should strengthen the strategic resolution, jointly oppose acts of bullying, defend the global free trade system and keep the global industrial and supply chains stable,” he added, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.
China and Vietnam signed a series of memoranda on cooperation in supply chains and a joint rail project, and XI also promised greater access for Vietnamese agricultural exports to China, although few details about the agreements were made public.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, complained about the meeting, which occurs days after their tariffs changed global markets and left governments around the world. Reacting to the meeting on Monday, Trump said China and Vietnam were trying to “discover how we fuck the United States of America.”
In Malaysia, XI is expected to discuss a free trade agreement between China and the association of 10 members of the Southeast Asian nation, since Malaysia is president of the association this year. XI will meet with King Sultan Ibrahim on Wednesday morning and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim later in the day.
The Secretary General of the ASEAN, Kao Kim Hourn, told the Chinese state media that the agreement will eliminate many rates between China and the members of the block. “We will take more zero tariffs in many cases, and then we will expand to all areas,” he said in an interview with CGTN, the state’s hillside channel.
Malasia is home to several Belt and Road initiative projects, including a Chinese rail project of $ 11.2 billion. China is also its largest commercial partner and a main source of foreign direct investment.
The XI tour was probably planned before the tariff ads had interrupted the global economy.
“From the Chinese perspective, it is mainly to guarantee the influence of China in the region remains strong and vibrant, since Southeast Asia is China’s main commercial partner,” said Oh Ei Sun, the main member of the Institute of International Affairs of Singapore.
However, the moment of the trip and the fact that Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia were affected by Trump’s tariffs, give Beijing the opportunity to project how it would act as a “responsible” superpower, one of China’s positions for a long time.
“China can offer Vietnam a lot and other Asean countries during this volatile period,” said Nguyen Thanh Trung, professor of Vietnamese studies at Fulbright Vietnam University. “I think China can be a leader.”
Anwar called China a “true friend” During the visit of Li Qiang in June and has visited China three times since it took power in November 2022.
China’s claims to the South China Sea are a dispute point with Vietnam and Malaysia. Anwar promised last September that Malaysia will not bow to China’s demands to stop its oil and gas exploration in a maritime area rich in oil in the southern sea of China, since the activities are within the waters of the country.
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The AP Eileen NG writer contributed to this report by Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
