On Monday, China’s President Xi Jinping called for stronger ties with Vietnam on trade and supply chains amid disruptions caused by US tariffs, as he attended the signing of dozens of cooperation agreements between the two Communist-run nations in Hanoi.
“The two sides should strengthen cooperation in production and supply chains,” Xi said in an article in Nhandan, the newspaper of Vietnam’s Communist Party, posted ahead of his arrival on Monday. He also urged more trade and stronger ties with Hanoi on artificial intelligence and the green economy.
“There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars,” Xi added, without mentioning the US specifically.
After he met Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, the two countries signed dozens of cooperation agreements, footage of the documents reviewed by Reuters showed, including deals on enhancing supply chains and on cooperation over railways.
The content of the agreements was not disclosed, and it was unclear whether they involved any financial or binding commitments.
One memorandum of understanding signed on Monday is to boost cooperation between the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which issues certificates on the origins of goods.
Rail links, planes
After a two-day stop in Hanoi, Xi will continue his Southeast Asian trip on Tuesday by visiting Malaysia and Cambodia from April 15 to 18. He last visited Cambodia and Malaysia nine and 12 years ago, respectively.
Xi’s trip to Hanoi, his second in less than 18 months, aims to consolidate relations with a neighbour that has received billions of dollars of Chinese investments in recent years as China-based manufacturers moved south to avoid tariffs imposed by the first Trump administration.
Vietnam’s Lam in an article published on Monday on state media said Hanoi wanted to boost cooperation in defence, security, and infrastructure, especially on rail links.
Vietnam has agreed to use Chinese loans to build new railways between the two countries in a major confidence-building step that would boost bilateral trade and connections.
