General Discussion

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/14/china-vietnam-trade-war-xi-jinping/

China’s Xi promises Vietnam the ‘stability’ of neighborhood diplomacy
China’s Xi Jinping is visiting Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia — countries President Donald Trump hit with tariffs — and presenting himself as a reliable partner.
April 14, 2025 at 5:23 a.m. EDT
By Lily Kuo

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Xi should find ready listeners on his trip. Vietnam is still reeling from Trump’s threat to impose a 46 percent tax on its exports to the U.S.

Vietnam ran a $123 billion trade surplus with the United States last year, up almost 20 percent from the year before, in part because manufacturers relocated from China to its southern neighbor to avoid the tariffs imposed on China in his first term.

Cambodia was hit even harder over its $12 billion trade surplus, with Trump threatening 49 percent tariffs. They are among the 75 countries to win a 90-day delay for negotiations.

But there are limits to how much support China can expect to gain in a region where it is embroiled in territorial disputes, as well as security and trade tensions with almost all of its neighbors. Analysts say Southeast Asian countries have long been worried about cheap Chinese goods flooding their markets.

Southeast Asia is a particular target for Chinese goods. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a grouping of 10 states, is China’s largest trading partner, accounting for 17 percent of the country’s total exports. Data on Monday showed exports to ASEAN grew 8 percent year over year to reach $146 billion during the first quarter.

The increase is a sign Chinese exporters may already be routing their goods to the U.S. through third countries, a strategy called transshipment that has been used since Trump’s first trade war with China to get around tariffs. Analysts say it is likely that these routes are the Trump administration’s next target as it negotiates tariffs with Southeast Asian and other countries that Chinese exporters have used for transshipping.

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