The Latest on Southeast Asia: Xi’s Visit to Southeast Asia

Last week, Xi Jinping made his first diplomatic visit of the year to neighboring Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia. The throughline of all three visits was Xi’s effort to pitch China as a regional leader and reliable trading partner, in contrast to a destabilizing United States under Donald Trump. Southeast Asian states, especially Cambodia and Vietnam, were among the nations hardest hit by the Trump administration’s “reciprocal tariffs” at the start of the month, though those are currently on pause. Instead, the United States has heightened its bilateral trade war with China, with tariffs in both directions now well over 100 percent.  

Xi visited Hanoi first and on April 14 oversaw the signing of 45 bilateral deals, including the launch of a Vietnam-China railway cooperation mechanism. In a meeting with Vietnamese prime minister Pham Minh Chinh, Xi noted that both countries should “oppose unilateral bullying,” without explicitly mentioning the United States. In reaction, Trump accused the two nations of plotting to “screw” the United States.  

On April 16, Xi visited Kuala Lumpur. China and Malaysia inked 31 deals, spanning from trade and tourism to transportation infrastructure and agriculture. During Xi’s meeting with Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, he presented a three-point proposal on building a high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future. Meanwhile, Anwar as the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) emphasized the grouping’s commitment to free trade, as well as the desire for Malaysia to collaborate with China on AI, infrastructure, and the green economy. 

Xi ended his three-country trip by visiting Phnom-Penh, his first visit to the nation in nearly a decade. Dubbed one of China’s closest regional partners, the two countries inked a total of 37 deals on bilateral investment and trade. Both countries glazed over two points of tension: the Beijing-financed expansion of the Ream Naval Base and the $1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal project. While China publicly expressed support for Cambodia’s efforts to continue the Funan Techo Canal project, no further details were revealed. In a press release, Xi championed the countries’ “ironclad friendship,” and emphasized the importance of standing against hegemonism.  

In all three trips, details on the litany of agreements and memoranda of understanding were sparse and implementation is likely to fall well short of expectations. But for Xi, the symbolism was likely key, as he presents China as a reliable partner in contrast to the United States and urges Southeast Asian states not to cut any deals with the Trump administration that might damage Beijing’s interests. 

Lauren Mai is a Program Coordinator and Research Assistant for the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Gregory B. Poling is a senior fellow and director for the Southeast Asia Program and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at CSIS. 

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