Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged Vietnam to stand against "unilateral bullying" in order to maintain a global free trade system, refraining from directly naming the United States. This appeal is part of Xi's diplomatic trip to Southeast Asia, which includes visits to Malaysia and Cambodia, Xinhua reported.
The timing of the trip is significant, as tensions rise from an escalating trade dispute between the US and China. Vietnam faces potential US tariffs of up to 46%, although a 90-day suspension was recently granted by the Trump administration.
As stated by Xinhua, Trump has criticized Xi's engagements with Vietnamese officials, suggesting it is a strategy to undermine American interests.
The trade war between the two countries has heated up, highlighted by the Trump administration's placement of 145% tariffs on a wide variety of Chinese imports, to which Beijing responded with its own 125% duties on American goods entering China.
