“Continue to commit to the common good”: XI says China will ensure stability of neighborhood policies | World News
Beijing/Hanoi: Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam on Monday to strengthen political and trade relations and said in a major tariff division with the United States that China will ensure the continuity and stability of its neighbors’ diplomacy and jointly promote the modernization of Asia.
Xi Jinping arrived in Hanoi abroad after U.S. President Donald Trump signed huge tariffs on China while suspending other countries including Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia (including three of the Chinese president’s current itinerary).
In an article published in the Nhan Dan newspaper in Vietnam before his visit, Xi Jinping said that China will deepen friendly cooperation with neighboring countries by ensuring the continuity and stability of its neighboring diplomacy. “We will continue to be committed to the principles of kindness, sincerity, mutual assistance and inclusion,” he wrote, adding: “We will continue to adopt a policy of building friendships and partnerships with our neighbors.”
XI was under pressure last year after Trump reached 145% tariffs on 145% of China’s exports to the United States, which exceeded $438 billion last year, talked about focusing on the common modernization of Asia and its Chinese neighbors as part of its new policy to reduce trade dependence on the United States and the European Union.
Although Beijing’s tax retaliation rate on U.S. goods is 125%, China, which relies on foreign trade, hopes to quickly transfer its business to make up for the losses. “Asia represents a new improvement in global cooperation and development. At a new starting point for the revitalization of the entire region, Asia faces unprecedented opportunities and challenges.”
During the tariff war with the United States, XI visited three Southeast Asian countries, which are part of the ASEAN group, and Beijing has its largest foreign trade, totaling more than $962 billion. ASEAN countries, especially Vietnam, have U.S. tariffs aimed at re-upgrade China’s industries and products and exporting them to the U.S. countries, and Vietnam also faces a major crisis, benefiting from Trump’s tariffs on China during his last term.
Vietnam became the biggest beneficiary of China, coupled with a multinational strategy, such as Apple, in addition to the move of Chinese companies to evade U.S. tariffs, becoming one of the key trade routes for exports to the U.S.
Last year alone, Vietnam’s exports to the United States reached $142 billion. Trump hit Vietnam last week with 46% tariffs, the highest tariff outside China, which is clearly a goal to re-formulate policies against Hanoi. Trump agreed to negotiate a new tariff agreement in a 90-day pause in many countries except China after a warm appeal in Vietnam.
Prior to the main visits to three Southeast countries, Xi Jinping managed the differences “appropriately” and strengthened supply chain relations to strengthen strategic ties with neighboring countries as the tariff war with the United States escalated.
In his first public speech after Trump’s tariffs, Xi Jinping broke a new foundation for China’s neighborhood diplomacy at the meeting of the ruling Communist Party in Beijing on April 9.
Beijing has been trapped in border tensions with India in recent months and has tried to improve its ties with other major neighbors such as Japan and South Korea, preparing for tough times under Trump’s presidency of the Trade and Strategic Front.
In October last year, Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Kazan, Russia, and India-China relations have been frozen for more than four years in the military stalemate in the eastern Ladakh.
Recently, China held trade talks with South Korea and Japan, the first economic dialogue between the three countries in five years, discussing regional trade facilitation. China is also working with several other nearby countries (BRI) to strengthen trade relations with several other nearby countries.
