President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s tour of Southeast Asia this week is likely aimed at “screwing” the United States, as the Chinese leader embarked on a five-day tour of some of the Asian countries hardest hit by Trump’s tariffs.
Xi Jinping arrived in Hanoi on Monday, where he met with Vietnam’s top leaders, called for stronger trade ties and signed dozens of co-operation agreements, including on improving supply chains.
Commenting on the meeting from the Oval Office, Trump said discussions in Vietnam centred on how to hurt the US, though he held no grudge.
“I don’t blame China, I don’t blame Vietnam,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “It’s a great meeting. It looks like we’re meeting to figure out, How do we screw the United States of America?”
Impact of the tariff war on Vietnam
Vietnam is among the few Southeast Asian countries that are suffering from the most punitive tariffs imposed by Trump as part of the so-called “Emancipation Day” tariffs, which amount to 46 per cent.
The US is considered Vietnam’s main export market, for which it is a crucial source of everything from shoes, clothing and electronics.
In the first three months of this year, Hanoi imported about $30 billion worth of goods from Beijing, while its exports to Washington totalled $31.4 billion.
Xi Jinping’s visit to Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia this week comes as Beijing faces tariffs of 145 per cent and the other countries try to negotiate a 90-day delay in reducing their reciprocal tariffs.
China-Vietnam relations
Xi Jinping’s trip to Hanoi is an opportunity to strengthen relations with a neighbour that has received billions of dollars in Chinese investment in recent years as Chinese manufacturers have moved south to avoid tariffs imposed by the first Trump administration.
The Chinese president had planned to visit the region before Trump announced the tariffs, but his visit coincided as the Chinese leader positions China as a stable trading partner, in contrast to the chaotic political manoeuvres emanating from Washington.
In an article published in the Vietnamese Communist Party’s Nhandan newspaper, Xi Jinping said that “there are no winners in trade and tariff wars’ and protectionism ‘leads to nothing.”
In a later meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Trinh, Xi Jinping said the two countries should resist unilateral intimidation.
Chinese and Vietnamese state media reported on Monday that 45 agreements had been signed between the two countries, including on railway links, although details were not disclosed.
Under pressure from Washington, Vietnam is tightening controls on some trade with China, and a Trump administration official said the president and Vietnam’s Lam had agreed to “work to reduce reciprocal tariffs.”
Tariff concerns
Vietnam and many other Southeast Asian countries are struggling to maintain the delicate balance between the US and China amid concerns that the region could be used as a potential dumping ground for Chinese exports banned from the US.
Escalating tensions between the US and China have heightened fears of a “separation” between the world’s two largest economies, concerns that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to dispel on Monday. “There’s a lot of work to be done at some point,” the US finance chief said when asked by Bloomberg about the possibility of a separation of the world’s largest economies. “There doesn’t have to be a separation,” he said, “but there could be.”
The White House recently appeared determined to ease the pressure by listing tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronic goods of which China is a major supplier. But Trump and some of his top aides said on Sunday that the exemptions had been misinterpreted and would only be temporary. “No one will go unpunished … especially China, who certainly treats us the worst!” the US president wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
After a two-day stopover in Hanoi, Xi Jinping will continue his tour of Southeast Asia, visiting Malaysia and Cambodia from Tuesday to Friday.
