Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Monday, for his first official overseas trip of the year, Xinhua news agency said.
His tour of Southeast Asia will also see him visit Malaysia and Cambodia as Beijing seeks to strengthen regional trade ties and offset the impact of huge tariffs unleashed by his US counterpart Donald Trump.
China has sought to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Washington, courting countries spooked by the global economic storm, reports AFP. And Trump’s trade war has handed Beijing with a bright opportunity to reduce US’ influence in the Asia-Pacific and other strategic regions.
Shortly before landing in Hanoi, Xi warned that protectionism "will lead nowhere".
Writing in an article published in a Vietnamese newspaper, Xi urged the two Asian manufacturing powerhouses to "resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment."
He also reiterated Beijing's line that a "trade war and tariff war will produce no winner."
The fallout from Trump's tariffs -- and subsequent whiplash policy reversals -- has sent particular shockwaves through the US economy, with investors dumping government bonds, the dollar tumbling and consumer confidence plunging.
Adding to the pressure on Trump, Wall Street billionaires -- including a number of his own supporters -- have openly criticized the tariff strategy as damaging and counterproductive.
The White House insists the aggressive policy is bearing fruit, saying dozens of countries have already opened trade negotiations to secure a deal before the 90-day pause ends.
"We're working around the clock, day and night, sharing paper, receiving offers and giving feedback to these countries," Greer told CBS.
Source: Daily Sun/AFP
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