No one wins a trade war: Xi takes swipe at Trump’s tariffs during Vietnam visit

China’s President Xi Jinping kicked off his Southeast Asia tour with a pointed message: trade wars don’t crown victors — only losers.

“There are no winners in a trade war, or a tariff war,” Xi wrote in a joint editorial published on Monday in both Vietnamese and Chinese state media, just as he touched down in Hanoi for a high-profile visit.

“Our two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment,” Xi said.

With US President Donald Trump keeping 145% tariffs on Chinese goods despite a temporary pause, Xi is using his regional charm offensive to offer a contrast: economic stability over trade sabres. Although Trump stated he respects Xi, he believed the meeting between the Chinese and Vietnamese leaders was an attempt to disadvantage the US in trade matters. Trump told reporters that China and Vietnam were trying “to figure out how do we screw the United States of America.”

Analysts say the tour is as much about optics as it is about policy. “This visit is about showing China as a responsible superpower — one that behaves very differently from the Trump-led US,” said Nguyen Khac Giang, a fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.

XI STEPS UP EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN REGIONAL TIES

Xi was welcomed at the airport by Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong — a rare honour — with students beating drums and waving both Chinese national and Communist Party flags, a vivid display of pageantry and power.

In Hanoi, Xi met with Communist Party General Secretary To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. “In the face of turmoil and disruption in the current global context, China and Vietnam’s commitment to peaceful development… has brought the world valuable stability and certainty,” Xi said, according to footage reviewed by the Associated Press.

The leaders signed several cooperation deals, including agreements on supply chains, railroad construction, and environmental initiatives. One headline deal: speeding up an $8 billion railway linking the two nations — first approved in February, per Vietnam’s Nhan Dan newspaper.

This trip, which also includes planned stops in Malaysia and Cambodia, is widely seen as Beijing’s attempt to counteract Trump-era tariffs by reinforcing regional ties. “The trip is all about how China can insulate itself against the tariffs from Trump,” Giang told the AP, noting that Xi has visited Vietnam twice in two years — more than his entire first decade in office.

Vietnam, which hosted both Biden and Xi in 2023, is caught between its deepening US ties and its expansive trade with China — its largest partner. While benefiting from US-led supply chain shifts, Vietnam faces accusations of acting as a “backdoor” for Chinese exports. In fact, it was slapped with 46% tariffs under Trump before the recent 90-day pause.

Territorial tensions in the South China Sea remain a thorn in the bilateral side, though both sides rarely air such disputes publicly.

As Xi heads to Malaysia and Cambodia next, the message is clear: China wants to lead the conversation on trade — not fight about it.

(With input from Associated Press)