Xi's visit shows Vietnam's balancing act amid looming U.S. tariffs
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Vietnam to jointly oppose "unilateral bullying' in his first overseas trip this year in a veiled jab at the U.S. Hanoi's initial silence on the request shows its attempt to walk a tightrope between the two powers.
Xi's call to action was omitted in the Vietnamese readouts and state media after the Chinese leader met with Vietnam's Communist Party chief, To Lam, on Monday. Vietnam gave Xi a warm welcome and signed 45 deals to deepen economic ties, but had appeared to avoid any comments that may upset U.S. President Donald Trump.
Shortly after Xi's departure, Vietnam released a joint statement saying the two sides will "pay attention' to trade and investment restrictions, while vowing to "oppose unilateralism' and any actions that endanger regional peace and stability — largely keeping to language it has used in the past.
"Vietnam wants to secure more access to the Chinese market without any repercussions from Washington,' said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. "The risk here is that any action of Xi Jinping in Hanoi and any message from Hanoi might be seen as a conspiracy of Vietnamese and Chinese leaders against the Trump administration.'
The threats of U.S. tariffs have forced many Southeast Asian nations to walk an increasingly fine line. As Trump isolates China as the main target of his trade offensive, he has demanded cooperation from Vietnam and other trade partners to stop Beijing from dodging levies by routing goods through third countries. A 90-day pause on drastic duties works as both a reprieve and a threat as the countries seek to negotiate a deal.
Beijing, on the other hand, has sought to shore up ties by dangling carrots. Xi vowed to broaden Vietnam's access to the China's "mega-market' and the neighbors signed deals spanning connectivity, artificial intelligence and agricultural trade.
Lam and Xi on Tuesday attended the launch ceremony of a Vietnam-China railway cooperation committee aimed at speeding up the construction of railway projects linking the countries. This includes a $8.4 billion cross-border railway that will connect the northern border city of Lao Cai to the Port of Haiphong via Hanoi.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh waits for Xi's arrival at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Tuesday. |
REUTERS
Highlighting the importance the Southeast Asian nation attached to the two-day visit, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong welcomed Xi at the airport.
"This is the highest level of reception for a country leader that Vietnam has given to Xi, it showed the goodwill of the Vietnamese government in expanding cooperation with China,' said Le Dang Doanh, an economist and former government adviser in Hanoi.
Vietnam is also seeking to further strengthen cooperation with China in security, transport and securing preferential loans as well as technology transfers from China, according to Vietnamese state media VTV. Hanoi also expects more balanced trade with its neighbor, it said.
That appears to be a reference to Vietnam's growing trade deficit with China, which soared last year to about $83 billion as global companies relocated supply chains south to avoid tariffs imposed during the first Trump administration. The region is also worried cheap Chinese goods could flood local markets as Trump's 145% tariffs on China are expected to curb trade between the world's two largest economies.
Vietnam may want to avoid seeming to pick a side especially after Trump suggested Hanoi and Beijing were conspiring against him.
"I don't blame China. I don't blame Vietnam,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. "I see they're meeting today. Isn't that wonderful? And that's a lovely meeting. They're meeting, like, trying to figure out, 'How do we screw the United States of America?''
While China remains the largest trade partner for most Southeast Asian countries, the threat of U.S. tariffs — 46% for Vietnam, 24% for Malaysia and 49% for Cambodia — may pressure them to offer concessions in exchange for lower levies.
Vietnam stepped up efforts to crack down on fraud in relation to the origin of goods in recent days, a move widely seen as a response to U.S. concerns about Chinese transshipment abuses.
It has also sought to placate the Trump administration with promises to buy big-ticket U.S. items such as aircraft, liquefied natural gas and high-tech products and has signaled it may also look to purchase U.S. weapons.
Xi is scheduled to continue his regional tour with visits to Malaysia and Cambodia, countries that will face similar pressures to pick a side.
"It's getting extremely difficult for small countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, or Malaysia to wiggle between China and the U.S.,' said Giang of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. "The space for hedging has become increasingly narrow.'
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