Xi calls on China, Vietnam to ‘oppose unilateral bullying’ on regional tour
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Vietnam's leader To Lam (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Office of the Party Central Committee in Hanoi.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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HANOI - Chinese leader Xi Jinping on April 14 called on his country and Vietnam to “oppose unilateral bullying”, Beijing’s state media reported, during a regional tour as leaders confront US tariffs.
Mr Xi is in Vietnam for the first leg of a South-east Asia tour, with Beijing trying to present itself as a reliable alternative to an erratic US President Donald Trump, who announced – and then mostly reversed – sweeping tariffs this month.
He was welcomed to Hanoi on April 14 with a 21-cannon salute, a guard of honour and rows of flag-waving children at the presidential palace, before holding talks with Vietnam’s top leaders including General Secretary To Lam.
Mr Xi told Mr Lam their two countries must “jointly oppose unilateral bullying, and uphold the stability of the global free trade system as well as industrial and supply chains”, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The two neighbours signed 45 cooperation agreements
Mr Xi’s visit comes almost two weeks after the United States – the biggest export market for Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, in the first three months of 2025 – imposed a 46 per cent levy on Vietnamese goods as part of a global tariff blitz.
Although the US tariffs on Vietnam and most other countries have been paused, China still faces enormous levies and is seeking to tighten regional trade ties and offset their impact during Mr Xi’s first overseas trip of 2025.
Mr Xi will depart Vietnam on April 15, travelling to Malaysia and Cambodia on a tour that “bears major importance” for the broader region, Beijing has said.
Speaking during a meeting with Mr Lam, Mr Xi said Vietnam and China were “standing at the turning point of history... and should move forward” together.
Mr Xi earlier urged the two countries to “resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment”.
He also reiterated Beijing’s line that a “trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere” in an article published on April 14 in Vietnam’s state-run Nhan Dan newspaper.
Mr Lam said in an article posted on the government’s news portal on April 14 that his country “is always ready to join hands with China to make cooperation between the two countries more substantive, profound, balanced and sustainable”.
‘Bamboo diplomacy’
Vietnam was South-east Asia’s biggest buyer of Chinese goods in 2024, with a bill of US$161.9 billion (S$213 billion), followed by Malaysia, which bought Chinese imports worth US$101.5 billion.
General Secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party To Lam (centre) and Chinese President Xi Jinping review the guard of honour at the Presidential Palace.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Firming up ties with South-east Asian neighbours could also help offset the impact from a closed United States, the largest single recipient of Chinese goods in 2024.
Mr Xi is visiting Vietnam for the first time since December 2023.
China and Vietnam, both governed by communist parties, already share a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, Hanoi’s highest diplomatic status.
Vietnam has long pursued a “bamboo diplomacy” approach that aims to stay on good terms with both China and the United States.
The two countries have close economic ties, but Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea as its own, but this is disputed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei.
Mr Xi said in his article on April 14 that Beijing and Hanoi could resolve those disputes through dialogue.
“We should properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region,” Mr Xi wrote. “With vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation.”
Mr Lam said in his article that “joint efforts to control and satisfactorily resolve disagreements... is an important stabilising factor in the current complex and unpredictable international and regional situation”.
In Malaysia, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said Mr Xi’s imminent visit was “part of the government’s efforts... to see better trade relations with various countries, including China”.
Mr Xi will then travel to Cambodia, one of China’s staunchest allies in South-east Asia, and where Beijing has extended its influence in recent years. AFP
