Xi makes a case for free trade, presenting China as a source of 'stability and certainty'

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

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Xi Jinping was accompanied by the country’s Communist chief To Lam; in Hanoi he held a meeting with President Luong Cuong, wrapping up his schedule in Hanoi before traveling to Malaysia to continue his Southeast Asia tour.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, walks with Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, right, as he lays a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum during his visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, Pool

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, attends a meeting with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, unseen, at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, Pool)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he boards his plane for departure at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping walks next to a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum during his visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping reacts as he lays a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum during his visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, Pool

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Chinese President Xi Jinping participates in a wreath laying ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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A Vietnamese flag flutters as Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Honor guards stand next to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum as Chinese President Xi Jinping participates in a wreath laying ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, second right, leaves to board his plane for departure, following his visit to Hanoi at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, walks with Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, as he lays a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum during his visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, leaves to board his plane for departure at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, Pool)

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Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, left, attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, unseen, at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, Pool)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, righr, speaks to Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, unseen, during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, Pool)

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Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh waits for Chinese President Xi Jinping to arrive before his departure, following his visit to Hanoi at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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Honor guards wait for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s departure at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)

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This handout photo taken and released by Malaysia’s Department of Information on April 15, 2025 shows Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, right, with China’s President Xi Jinping upon his arrival at the Bunga Raya VIP complex of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia. (Farhan Abdullah, Malaysia’s Information Department via AP)

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This handout photo taken and released by Malaysia’s Department of Information on April 15, 2025 shows Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, left, shaking hands with China’s President Xi Jinping upon his arrival at the Bunga Raya VIP complex of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia. (Farhan Abdullah, Malaysia’s Information Department via AP)

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This handout photo taken and released by Malaysia’s Department of Information on April 15, 2025 shows China’s President Xi Jinping waving upon his arrival at the Bunga Raya VIP complex of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia. (Farhan Abdullah, Malaysia’s Information Department via AP)

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This handout photo taken and released by Malaysia’s Department of Information on April 15, 2025 shows Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, left, walking with China’s President Xi Jinping upon his arrival at the Bunga Raya VIP complex of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia. (Farhan Abdullah, Malaysia’s Information Department via AP)

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By HUIZHONG WU

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s Xi is making the case for free trade as he tours Southeast Asia this week, presenting China as a source of “stability and certainty.”

On Monday, he was welcomed to Hanoi with pomp and ceremony by Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong.

He arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, later Tuesday, for a three-day visit and will end his tour with a stop in Cambodia.

In Hanoi, Xi had a meeting with Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, where he said the two countries “have brought the world valuable stability and certainty” in a “turbulent world.” He also paid respects at the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party.

“As beneficiaries of economic globalization, both China and Vietnam should strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateral bullying acts, uphold the global free trade system, and keep global industrial and supply chains stable,” he added, according to a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

China and Vietnam signed a series of memorandums on cooperation in supply chains and a joint railway project, and Xi also promised greater access for Vietnamese agricultural exports to China, although few details were made public about the agreements.

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U.S. President Donald Trump complained about the meeting, which comes days after his tariffs upended global markets and left governments across the world scrambling. Reacting to the meeting Monday, Trump said China and Vietnam were trying “to figure out how do we screw the United States of America.”

In Malaysia, Xi is expected to discuss a free trade agreement between China and 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nation, as Malaysia is chair of the association this year. Xi will meet with King Sultan Ibrahim on Wednesday morning and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim later in the day.

ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn told Chinese state media that the agreement will eliminate many tariffs between China and the bloc’s members. “We will bring more tariffs down to zero in many cases, and then expand to all the areas,” he said in an interview with CGTN, the state broadcaster’s English channel.

Malaysia is home to several Belt and Road Initiative projects, including a $11.2 billion Chinese railway project. China is also its largest trading partner and a top source of foreign direct investment.

Xi’s tour was likely planned before the tariff announcements had disrupted the global economy.

“From the Chinese perspective, it’s mostly about ensuring China’s influence in the region remains strong and vibrant, with Southeast Asia being China’s major trading partner,” said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at Singapore’s Institute of International Affairs.

However, the trip’s timing and the fact that Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia, were all countries impacted by Trump’s tariffs, provides Beijing an opportunity to project how it would act as a “responsible” superpower, one of China’s long-time stances.

“China can offer a lot to Vietnam and other ASEAN countries during this volatile period,” said Nguyen Thanh Trung, a professor of Vietnamese studies at Fulbright University Vietnam. “I think China can be a leader.”

Anwar called China a “true friend” during Li Qiang’s visit in June and has visited China three times since he took power in November 2022.

China’s claims to the South China Sea are a point of contention with both Vietnam and Malaysia. Anwar vowed last September that Malaysia will not bow to demands by China to stop its oil and gas exploration in an oil-rich maritime area in the South China Sea as the activities are within the country’s waters.

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AP writer Eileen Ng contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.