Xi makes a case for free trade, presents China as a source of ‘stability and certainty’

Bangkok: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is making a case for free trade as he visits Southeast Asia this week, presenting China as a source of “stability and certainty”.
On Monday, he was welcomed in Hanoi with pomp and ceremony by Vietnam President Louong Kung.
He reached Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, later finishing his tour for a three -day visit on Tuesday and a stop in Cambodia.
In Hanoi, Xi held a meeting with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Lam, where he said that the two countries “brought valuable stability and certainty in the world to” disturbed the world “. He also paid the honor in the tomb of Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
According to a statement by China’s Foreign Ministry, “As beneficiaries of economic globalization, both China and Vietnam should strengthen strategic resolution, jointly oppose unilateral bullying acts, maintain global free trade system and keep global industrial and supply chains stable.”
China and Vietnam signed a series of memorandum on collaboration in supply chains and a joint railway project, and Xi also promised more access to Vietnamese agricultural exports to China, although some details were made public about agreements.
US President Donald Trump complained about the meeting, which comes a few days after his tariff left the global markets and governments around the world. Reacting to the meeting on Monday, Trump said that China and Vietnam were “trying to find out how we screw the United States.”
In Malaysia, Xi is expected to discuss a free trade agreement between China and the Southeast Asian Nation’s 10-Sashetra Union, as Malaysia is the president of the association this year. Xi will meet on Wednesday morning with King Sultan Ibrahim and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim later during the day.
ASEAN General Secretary Cao Kim Hour told the Chinese state media that the agreement would end several tariffs between members of China and the block. He said, “We will bring more tariffs up to zero in many cases, and then expand into all areas,” he said in an interview with the state broadcaster’s English channel CGTN.
Malaysia is home to several belts and road initiative projects, including a $ 11.2 billion Chinese railway project. China is also its largest trading partner and top source of foreign direct investment.
Xi’s visit was planned before the tariff announcements were interrupted in the global economy.
Oh EE Sun, a senior partner of the Institute of International Affairs, Singapore, said, “From the Chinese perspective, it is mostly about ensuring China’s influence in the region, which is the leading trading partner of South -East Asia China.”
However, travel time and fact that Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia were all influenced by the tariffs of all countries Trump, giving Beijing an opportunity to tell how it would act as a “responsible” superpower, one of the long -term trends of China.
“China can offer a lot to Vietnam and other ASEAN countries during this unstable period,” said Guyen Than Tung, a professor at Vietnamese Studies at Fulbright University Vietnam. “I think China can be a leader.”
Anwar called China a “true friend” during the journey of Lee Kiang in June and visited China thrice since assuming power in November 2022.
China’s claims in the South China Sea are a point of dispute with both Vietnam and Malaysia. Anwar vowed last September that Malaysia would not demand China to prevent its search for its oil and gas in an oil -rich sea sector in the South China Sea as activities are under the country’s water.