Chinese President Xi Jinping is promoting free trade during his visit to Southeast Asia this week, portraying China as a source of “stability and confidence.”
On Monday, he was ceremoniously greeted in Hanoi by Vietnamese President Luong Cuong.
He arrived in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, on Tuesday for a three-day visit and will end his tour in Cambodia.
In Hanoi, Mr Xi met with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, where he said both countries “bring valuable stability and confidence to the world” in a “turbulent world”.
He also paid tribute to the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
“As participants in economic globalization, both China and Vietnam should strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateral acts of bullying, uphold the global free trade system and maintain the stability of global industrial supply chains,” he added, according to a statement from China's Foreign Ministry.
China and Vietnam have signed several memorandums of cooperation on supply chains and a joint railway project, and Mr Xi has also promised to increase access for Vietnamese agricultural exports to China, although details of these agreements have been limited.
US President Donald Trump expressed displeasure at the meeting, which came days after his tariffs hit global markets and embarrassed governments around the world.
Commenting on Monday's meeting, Mr Trump said China and Vietnam were trying to “figure out how to deceive the United States of America”.
In Malaysia, Mr Xi is expected to discuss a free trade agreement between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as Malaysia holds the group's rotating chairmanship this year.
Mr Xi will meet King Sultan Ibrahim on Wednesday morning and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim later in the day.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hoorn told Chinese state media that the deal would eliminate many tariffs between China and the bloc's members.
“In many cases, we will reduce tariffs to zero and then extend them to all regions,” he said in an interview with CGTN, the state broadcaster's English-language channel.
Malaysia is hosting several projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, including China's US$11.2 billion railway project.
China is also the largest trading partner
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
