Hanoi:
China and Vietnam on Monday signed dozens of cooperation agreements, strengthening the relationship between Communist-Run countries after Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned that protectionism “is nowhere” and in a business war “no one would be the winner”.
Xi is in Vietnam for the first phase of a visit to Southeast Asia, as Beijing tries to introduce himself as a stable option for an irregular US President Donald Trump, which announced – and then most of the reversal – this month widely this month.
Prior to interacting with top leaders of Vietnam, the Chinese President was welcomed with a 21-canon salute, a guard of honor and a flag-waving children with lines of children.
Both neighbors signed around 40 cooperation agreements. The details were not available immediately, but before the journey it was expected that deals would reach areas including trade and aviation.
Xi’s visit comes about two weeks after the United States – the creation of Powerhouse Vietnam’s largest export market in the first three months of the year – a global trade slapped 46 percent levy on Vietnamese goods as part of the blitz.
Although Vietnam and most other countries have been stopped by mutual tariffs, China is still facing heavy levy and demanding tightening of regional trade relations and offsetting their impact during the first foreign trip of the year.
Sheejing has stated that XI is in Vietnam on Monday and Tuesday before visiting Malaysia and Cambodia, which gives “major importance” to the broader region.
Speaking during a meeting with Lam Monday, Xi said that Vietnam and China “stood at the turn of history … and should move forward with joint hands.”
Xi first urged the two countries to protect “multilateral trade system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment”.
He also reiterated the line of Beijing that “Trade War and Tariff War will not produce a winner, and there will be no protectionism in an article published on Monday in Vietnam’s major state-driven NHN Dan newspaper”.
In an article posted on the government’s news portal on Monday, the top leader of Vietnam of Lam said that his country is always ready to join hands with China to cooperate between the two countries, intensive, balanced and durable “.
– ‘Bamboo diplomacy’ –
Vietnam was the largest buyer of South -East Asia’s Chinese goods in 2024, with a bill of $ 161.9 billion, followed by Chinese imports with Malaysia $ 101.5 billion.
Firming the relationship with South East Asian neighbors can also help offset the impact from a closed United States, the largest single recipient of Chinese goods last year.
XI is visiting Vietnam for the first time since December 2023.
Both China and Vietnam, ruled by communist parties, already share a “broad strategic partnership”, the highest diplomatic position of Hanoi.
Vietnam has long been followed by a “bamboo diplomacy” approach – trying to live in good words with both China and the United States.
The two countries have close economic relations, but Hanoi shared American concerns about the increasing vigor of Beijing in the South China Sea.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, but its claims are disputed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei.
The Chinese leader stressed in his article on Monday that Beijing and Hanoi can resolve those disputes through dialogue.
Xi wrote, “We should manage differences properly in our area and protect peace and stability.”
“With vision, we are fully capable of properly disposing of marine issues through consultation and interaction,” he said.
Lam of Vietnam said in his article on the Government News Portal that “the joint effort to control disagreement and solve satisfactorily … is an important stable factor in the current complex and unexpected international and regional situation”.
After Vietnam, Xi will visit Malaysia from Tuesday to Thursday.
Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that Xi’s visit was “part of the government’s efforts … to see better trade relations with various countries including China”.
Xi will then visit Cambodia on Thursday, one of China’s stringent colleagues in Southeast Asia and where Beijing has increased its influence in recent years.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
