Goals and Outcomes of the Chinese President’s Visit to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia

From April 14 to 18, Chinese President Xi Jinping conducted a tour in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia, at the official invitation of the leaders of the three countries. This was Xi’s first visit this year and his first to Southeast Asia since his official trip to Vietnam in December 2023.

The significance of this tour stems from several considerations, most notably as it comes at a time when China and the three countries face pressing economic challenges due to the escalation of the trade war initiated by President Trump against more than 75 countries, including tariffs of 49% on Cambodia, 46% on Vietnam, 26% on Malaysia, and around 145% on China. This move was met with similar Chinese tariffs on American products reaching up to 125%.

The tour also followed shortly after Trump suspended his American tariffs on most countries for 90 days, with the exception of China, tightening the squeeze specifically on Beijing, while the United States negotiates tailored deals with each country.

Key Objectives and Implications:

Xi’s tour to the three Southeast Asian countries carried several main implications and messages, as follows:

The Centrality of Southeast Asia in Chinese Neighborhood Diplomacy: Xi’s trip reflects the centrality of the Asian dimension in China’s foreign policy. In an article published before his official visit to Vietnam, Xi emphasized that China would ensure the continuity and stability of its diplomacy with its neighbors, guided by the principles of friendship, mutual benefit, and inclusivity. This was Xi’s first visit to neighboring countries following the Central Conference on Neighborly Relations held on April 8 and 9.

The choice of destinations for the tour carries essential implications, as both Vietnam and Malaysia currently have significant trade surpluses with the United States and fear the potential imposition of significant tariffs, particularly on Vietnam, which is an important link in the international supply chain due to its role as a key route for Chinese exports to the U.S. Simultaneously, Cambodia is China’s closest partner in the region, needing a boost in Chinese investments to avoid economic stagnation. Malaysia is considered an important country for China due to its 32 million population, advanced technological base, current presidency in ASEAN, and its role in coordinating dialogue between ASEAN and China.

Mobilizing Support to Mitigate the Impact of Trump’s Tariffs and Combat the Trade War: China is relying on the support of its Southeast Asian partners to confront the repercussions of the ongoing trade war led by the U.S.—the largest importer of Chinese products in 2024—compensating for losses from diminished access to the American market through securing additional markets in neighboring countries, especially since Southeast Asia is a vital market for Chinese exports. ASEAN countries collectively imported goods from China last year worth 586.5billion,withVietnamaccountingfor586.5billion,withVietnamaccountingfor161.9 billion, followed by Malaysia with $101.5 billion.

Countering U.S. Pressure to Isolate China: One of the key messages that Xi aimed to convey during his Southeast Asian tour was that the U.S. does not represent the entire international community and will not succeed in isolating Beijing, which maintains numerous friends, partners, and markets in developing countries and the non-Western world, including Southeast Asia, a significant ally of China.

Xi has been striving to convince leaders from many neighboring countries not to make deals with the U.S. at the expense of their national interests and to ensure that they do not succumb to American pressure, especially as some have expressed a desire or have already started trade negotiations with the Trump administration. He emphasized the importance of solidarity among “Asian family” nations and called for regional unity during a speech at an official dinner in Malaysia, at a time when the Trump administration is preparing to use tariff negotiations to rally its trading partners as part of efforts aimed at economically isolating China. In other words, China is seeking to counter U.S. pressure aimed at pushing countries to limit their trade relations with Beijing.

Presenting China as a Reliable Trade Partner: Xi sought to present China as a reliable and stable trade partner and a defender of globalization amid the uncertainty caused by American protectionist and unpredictable policies, particularly after the imposition and then suspension of additional tariffs that included the three countries but excluded China. The Chinese president warned at the beginning of his visit to Vietnam that protectionist policies “will lead to no results,” stressing that China’s position is that “the trade and tariff war will not result in a winner, and protectionism does not lead to any result,” urging regional countries to stand against “political hegemony, policies of coercive influence, and address bloc politics,” and presenting partnership with China as a “better alternative” in the midst of a heated trade war initiated by the U.S.

Reassurance to Direct Neighbors: Xi aims to reassure allies most affected by American tariffs in the region that China is committed to supporting its partners and continuing its development policies to strengthen partnerships with them. It also seeks to expand their options away from Washington. This is evidenced by Xi’s assertion that China’s vast market is always open to neighboring countries, and China welcomes more high-quality products from ASEAN member states. On the other hand, Xi seeks to alleviate concerns among Southeast Asian leaders and prominent businessmen regarding the potential influx of cheap surplus Chinese goods into their markets, especially since these products have diminished opportunities to enter the American market, which may burden their emerging economies.

Concurrently, Xi has placed significant importance on managing bilateral disputes with regional countries through practical measures to deepen relations, including conducting more consultations at the leadership level, discussing contentious issues related to disputes in the South China Sea, deemed a key obstacle and a gap that Washington exploits to escalate tensions between neighboring countries and undermine regional security and stability.

Outcomes of the Tour:

The visit resulted in several important outcomes, including:

Enhancement of Partnership Levels: On the sidelines of Xi’s visit to the three Asian countries, China and Malaysia elevated their bilateral relations to a new level, announcing the construction of a high-level strategic Chinese-Malaysian community with a shared future. Relations between China and Cambodia were elevated to a comprehensive Chinese-Cambodian community with a shared future in the new era, marking the first time that China has upgraded its bilateral relations with a Southeast Asian nation to a comprehensive level.

China and Vietnam also reached broad agreement on deepening comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two nations, significantly enhancing mutual political trust and providing important strategic guidance to advance the construction of a Chinese-Vietnamese community with a shared future.

Signing of Economic and Investment Agreements in Vital Sectors: Xi signed numerous agreements with the three countries in various areas such as trade, industry, science, artificial intelligence, infrastructure, supply chains, and data. China and Vietnam signed an $8.4 billion agreement to establish a high-speed rail line connecting the Vietnamese capital Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh City, alongside a commitment to enhance Vietnamese agricultural exports to China. In Malaysia, both sides agreed to become leaders in regional cooperation in high-quality new productive forces, focusing on advanced areas such as the digital economy, green economy, and artificial intelligence.

China and Cambodia pledged to expedite work on the “Diamond Cooperation Framework,” a broad initiative that includes “industrial and technological corridors” and “fish and rice corridors,” designed to connect industrial areas and agricultural centers with Chinese markets and expertise. China also agreed to fund preliminary works for the Phonm Techo Canal in Cambodia, valued at $1.7 billion, linking a branch of the Mekong River with a Cambodian port located on the Gulf of Thailand to reduce Cambodia’s reliance on Mekong waterways affected by U.S. maritime operations.

Xi expressed China’s readiness to work with ASEAN countries to expedite the signing and implementation of the third version of the Free Trade Agreement between China and ASEAN, aiming to enhance regional economic integration.

Agreement to Reject Protectionist Trade Policies: The joint statements between China and the three countries show a consensus on opposing hegemony, power politics, rejecting protectionist policies, and all forms of unilateralism and practices that endanger regional peace and stability, through Asian values represented by peace, cooperation, openness, and inclusivity.

Asian countries face increasing threats as Trump’s protectionist and isolationist policies resurface, requiring coordinated and collaborative efforts to confront and contain these threats, ensuring support for multilateralism, advancing globalization, maintaining the rule-based international order, and ensuring the security of global supply chains.

Developing Cooperation in Security and Defense: China aims to enhance security cooperation with the three countries. Xi invited Vietnam to renew the “3+3” strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense, and overall security between the two nations at the ministerial level to enhance strategic coordination. He urged Malaysia to establish a “2+2” dialogue mechanism in diplomacy and national defense to deepen exchanges and cooperation in national security and defense, and agreed with Cambodia to strengthen cooperation between the armed forces of both countries.

Vietnam has expanded its aircraft import agreements with Chinese companies; the Vietnamese budget airline VietJet signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese company to lease two COMAC C909 aircraft, operated by crews from Chengdu Airlines on two domestic routes within Vietnam. Additionally, China financed the expansion of the Ream Naval Base on Cambodia’s southern coast, raising Western concerns about the potential for it to become a strategic base for the Chinese navy in the Gulf of Thailand, which Cambodia denies.

Joint Chinese-Malaysian Statement on Middle Eastern Situations: Beijing and Kuala Lumpur issued a joint statement that included a notable position on the ongoing Israeli aggression against Gaza, emphasizing that “Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian territory” and that the principle of “Palestinians governing Palestine must be adhered to in managing Gaza after the conflict.” Both sides called on all relevant parties to engage in continuous and effective implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza to achieve a lasting ceasefire. They expressed their refusal of the forced displacement of Gaza’s residents and the necessity of establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the two-state solution, along with Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations.

In conclusion, while Xi’s tour of the three countries (Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia) successfully enhanced China’s regional influence in Southeast Asia as a reliable strategic partner capable of offering support in the face of external challenges, especially given the potential retreat of American influence there under the second Trump administration, the efficacy of China’s ability to sway its Asian neighbors—particularly Washington’s allies—and form a resistance front against Trump’s tariffs ultimately depends on China’s positions and actions toward its Asian partners on one hand, and those countries’ choices in dealing with the new U.S. administration’s policies and the intensifying Sino-American competition on the other.

It remains clear that the actions of the three countries, balancing the desire to negotiate with the Trump administration regarding American tariffs against offering customs concessions while fostering extensive strategic and trade relations with their Chinese partner as a hedge against any existing or potential American threats or pressures, indicate their belief that pragmatism, maintaining neutrality, and balancing between the competing powers, despite its difficulties, remains the optimal choice in the foreseeable future.