Xi calls on Vietnam to join hands with China in ‘opposing unilateral bullying’

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in Hanoi on Monday that China and Vietnam should “jointly oppose unilateral bullying and firmly uphold the multilateral trading system.

Xi, who is on a state visit to the Southeast Asian nation in the shadow of US tariffs, met Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam, and said, “We must strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateral bullying, and uphold the stability of the global free trade system as well as industrial and supply chains.”

The remarks come as the United States ramps up economic pressure on Beijing, including a sweeping 145% tariff on Chinese goods and broader moves to decouple from Chinese supply chains, said a Xinhua news agency report.

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Earlier in the day, China and Vietnam signed dozens of cooperation agreements, strengthening ties between the communist-run countries after Jinping warned that protectionism “leads nowhere” and a trade war would have “no winners”.

In his meeting with the Vietnamese PM, Xi said the two countries should work together to push for an economic globalisation that is more open, inclusive, balanced, and beneficial to all.

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Xi is in Vietnam for the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour, as Beijing is trying to present itself as a reliable alternative to the US after President Donald Trump announced and then mostly reversed sweeping tariffs.

The two neighbours signed 45 cooperation agreements, including on supply chains, artificial intelligence, joint maritime patrols, and railway development.
Xi’s visit comes after the United States—the biggest export market for Vietnam—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 is still facing high levies and is seeking to offset their impact with regional trade.
On Tuesday, Xi will depart for Malaysia and Cambodia on his regional tour.

In his meeting with Lam, Xi said Vietnam and China were “standing at the turning point of history... and should move forward” together.

In an article published in Vietnam’s state-run Nhan Dan newspaper on Monday, he reiterated Beijing’s line that a “trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere.”

Meanwhile, Lam said in an article posted on the government’s news portal that his country “is always ready to join hands with China to make cooperation between the two countries more substantive, profound, balanced, and sustainable”.

Vietnam was Southeast Asia’s biggest buyer of Chinese goods last year, followed by Malaysia.

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Vietnam has long pursued a “bamboo diplomacy” approach that aims to stay on good terms with both China and the United States, as Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the 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.

Xi said in his article that Beijing and Hanoi “should properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region.”