BANGKOK (AP) \u2014 China\u2019s Xi is making the case for free trade as he tours Southeast Asia this week, presenting China as a source of \u201cstability and certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, he was welcomed to Hanoi with pomp and ceremony by Vietnam\u2019s President Luong Cuong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia\u2019s capital, later Tuesday, for a three-day visit and will end his tour with a stop in Cambodia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Hanoi, Xi had a meeting with Vietnam\u2019s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, where he said the two countries \u201chave brought the world valuable stability and certainty\u201d in a \u201cturbulent world.\u201d He also paid respects at the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs 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,\u201d he added, according to a statement from China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 \u201cto figure out how do we screw the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn told Chinese state media that the agreement will eliminate many tariffs between China and the bloc\u2019s members. \u201cWe will bring more tariffs down to zero in many cases, and then expand to all the areas,\u201d he said in an interview with CGTN, the state broadcaster\u2019s English channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Xi\u2019s tour was likely planned before the tariff announcements had disrupted the global economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom the Chinese perspective, it\u2019s mostly about ensuring China\u2019s influence in the region remains strong and vibrant, with Southeast Asia being China\u2019s major trading partner,\u201d said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at Singapore\u2019s Institute of International Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the trip\u2019s timing and the fact that Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia, were all countries impacted by Trump\u2019s tariffs, provides Beijing an opportunity to project how it would act as a \u201cresponsible\u201d superpower, one of China\u2019s long-time stances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChina can offer a lot to Vietnam and other ASEAN countries during this volatile period,\u201d said Nguyen Thanh Trung, a professor of Vietnamese studies at Fulbright University Vietnam. \u201cI think China can be a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n