Chinese president engages in charm offensive in Southeast Asia as U.S. tariffs rattle region

The timing couldn't beryllium amended for Chinese President Xi Jinping arsenic helium wraps up a circuit of 3 countries successful Southeast Asia amid increasing tariff unit from U.S. President Donald Trump.

"It's a precise astute move," said Gil Lan, an subordinate prof successful the instrumentality and concern section astatine the Ted Rogers School of Management astatine Toronto Metropolitan University.

Xi's five-day sojourn to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia has been an effort to enactment up allies and enactment wrong the region and contiguous Beijing as a stable, reliable spouse successful the aftermath of sweeping tariffs announced by Trump earlier this period connected countries astir the world — including peculiarly precocious levies connected the places successful Southeast Asia that were connected the Chinese leader's itinerary.

"It's a large accidental for China to presumption itself astatine the helm of the satellite trading order. And that was an accidental granted to it by the States," Lan said.

The Chinese person past visited Cambodia 9 years agone and Malaysia 12 years ago.

On April 2, Trump announced 46 per cent "reciprocal" tariffs connected Vietnam, 24 per cent connected Malaysia and 49 per cent connected Cambodia — though successful an about-face, the U.S. president paused the complaint astatine 10 per cent for 90 days.

China, the sole outlier, is facing 145 per cent tariffs from the United States.

Upholding the planetary free-trade system

In Hanoi connected Monday, his archetypal stop, Xi was greeted by Vietnamese President Luong Cuong with a peculiar ceremony. According to a connection from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese president said the 2 countries would "strengthen strategical resolve, jointly reason unilateral bullying acts, uphold the planetary escaped commercialized system and support planetary concern and proviso chains stable."

"He's received the highest level of VIP invited that they could spend to anyone," said Ben Bland, manager of the Asia-Pacific program at Chatham House, a London-based deliberation tank.

For Bland, the timing is "quite handy" arsenic the U.S. looks "very unilateral, coercive, even."

WATCH | In Vietnam Xi positions China arsenic defender of rules-based trade:

"Xi Jinping tin contiguous a look of China arsenic reliable, dependable, and unfastened and honorable successful its dialog with its partners, contempt its ain way grounds of coercive behaviour towards Southeast Asia, ironically," helium said.

At his 2nd stop, Xi and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, this year's seat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), were expected to sermon a free-trade agreement between China and the 10-member group, according to reports.

Xi's past halt was Cambodia, arriving connected Thursday successful Phnom Penh to a lukewarm invited by caput of authorities King Norodom Sihamoni on the 50th day of the April 17, 1975, takeover of Cambodia by the communist Khmer Rouge.

Xi besides met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. In summation to discussions connected strengthening bilateral ties and determination and planetary issues, respective agreements were expected to beryllium signed connected co-operation successful assorted sectors.

Trump responded to a question astir Xi's Southeast Asian tour in the Oval Office connected Monday, during a bilateral gathering with El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele.

"That's a beauteous meeting. We're meeting, like, trying to fig out, 'How bash we screw the United States of America?'" helium said.

Trade and infrastructure 

China's diplomacy successful Southeast Asia has been ongoing for decades. It has been ASEAN's largest trading spouse since 2009, and successful 2024, China-ASEAN commercialized was valued astatine $998 cardinal US.

To get a amended consciousness of the increasing economical ties, commercialized betwixt ASEAN and China much than doubled betwixt 2010 and 2019, and quadrupled since the constitution of the ASEAN-China Trade successful Goods Agreement successful 2005.

But it's not conscionable the latest sojourn by Xi or the commercialized ties that awesome a strengthening narration successful the region. For Toronto Metropolitan University's Lan, overseas nonstop concern is besides an indicator.

In the past decade, China has spent billions of dollars gathering infrastructure projects arsenic portion of its Belt and Road Initiative, including high-speed obstruction betwixt Thailand and China, highways and roads successful Cambodia, and a railway and powerfulness presumption successful Vietnam.

"What [Southeast Asian countries] astir apt privation to bash close present is softly guarantee China that they're inactive trading with China and inactive a spouse with China, but not look connected the radar to antagonize the president of the United States," Lan said.

Economic and territorial disputes

However, what appears to beryllium a proclamation of a stronger Asia-Pacific bloc isn't without fractious elements, some economically and geopolitically.

The Council connected Foreign Relations, a think-tank based successful New York, referred successful September to China's "assertiveness" successful its sovereignty claims implicit the South China Sea — and the untapped lipid and earthy state located determination — expanding hostility with its neighbours, particularly the Philippines.

Beijing has besides utilized economical coercion connected countries, specified as imposing strict wellness checks, past a afloat connected ban, connected bananas imported from the Philippines successful 2012 successful effect to Manila's territorial claims connected the South China Sea.

Canada and the U.S. have a involvement successful these waters. In August, Canada's nationalist defence minister, Bill Blair, met with his Australian counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, to sermon strengthening their defence co-operation in the region, presumably arsenic a mode to incorporate China.

Conflict successful the South China oversea could perchance disrupt $5.5 trillion US successful trade.

Those clashes won't evaporate overnight, said Bland, of Chatham House.

"It's rather imaginable to distrust some large powers, oregon adjacent astatine the margins to amended your relationships with some large powers astatine the aforesaid time," helium said, referring to China and the U.S.

Concurrently, China is besides wooing different neighbours, specified arsenic Japan and South Korea. In March, apical diplomats from the 3 countries held their archetypal economical gathering successful 5 years.

Even so, determination are inactive regular skirmishes successful the East China Sea implicit claims implicit what China refers to arsenic the Diaoyu Islands and Japan calls the Senkaku Islands.

Despite a lingering consciousness of mistrust, the menace and unpredictability of Donald Trump could precise good animate the countries to enactment much intimately together.

"At the extremity of this, you mightiness spot a stronger Asia," Lan said. "It's not needfully the satellite turning to Asia, though. It's the satellite turning distant from the U.S."