Xi’s trip shows China a reliable partner, brings more opportunities to Southeast Asian region

President Xi Jinping arrived in Beijing on April 18 as he wrapped up his first overseas trip of this year in which he made state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

During the visits, China and the three neighboring countries reached consensuses in a wide range of areas, including politics and economic cooperation, as evidenced by the signing of more than 100 cooperation documents.

As the global landscape enters a critical period, the trip by the Chinese head of state has sent a clear message of regional countries’ commitment to building their common home through all-around cooperation, upholding free trade and defending the rules-based international order, officials and experts said.

They added that Xi’s three-nation tour of Southeast Asia, which came amid the chaos caused by the United States launching a tariff war, also reinforced Beijing’s reputation as a reliable partner.

Xu Liping, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Center for Southeast Asian Studies, said that faced with a complex external environment, the trip provided a good opportunity for China and the regional countries to strengthen strategic communication and reach consensus at the highest level on getting united to firmly reject unilateralism and protectionism.

In Hanoi, To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, when saying goodbye to Xi, pointed out that a series of key common understandings reached during Xi’s fruitful visit have strengthened Vietnam’s confidence in overcoming challenges, and also elevated their people-to-people friendship to new heights.

In Putrajaya, Malaysia’s federal administrative capital, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in an interview that Xi’s visit was a highlight of China-Malaysia friendship.

As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ rotating chair for 2025, he said Malaysia advocates for free trade and openness. Anwar added that Malaysia will coordinate communication among ASEAN countries to address external changes together.

In Phnom Penh, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet told Xi that amid global turbulence caused by unilateralism and shocks to the multilateral trading system, China has played a leading role and provided valuable stability to the world.

During the visit, China has elevated its building of a community with a shared future with the three countries to new heights, demonstrating its priority regarding neighboring countries in foreign policy terms after Beijing held the central conference on work related to neighboring countries days prior to Xi’s trip.

Speaking at an April 17 media briefing upon the conclusion of the tour, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that all of the three countries have expressed their welcome and high regard for the importance China attaches to neighboring countries.

Agreements inked

Among the outcomes of Xi’s trip were the launch of the China-Vietnam railway cooperation mechanism, a mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Malaysia, and a cooperation agreement on the Funan Techo Integrated Water Resources Management Project that concerns the livelihood of Cambodian people.

Scientific and technological innovation is a highlight of China’s cooperation with the three countries, with agreements reached in artificial intelligence and other areas.

Wang added that security and defense is another important field of China’s cooperation with regional countries, besides mutually beneficial economic cooperation.

China and Vietnam have announced the establishment of the “3+3” strategic dialogue mechanism on diplomacy, defense and public security at the ministerial level, while China and Malaysia, and China and Cambodia have agreed respectively to establish joint foreign and defense dialogue mechanisms.

Du Lan, deputy head of the China Institute of International Studies’ Asia-Pacific Studies Department, said that the deepening of China-Vietnam, China-Malaysia, and China-Cambodia economic cooperation will help these countries expand their markets and stabilize industrial and supply chains, to boost the resilience of economic development in order to address global economic uncertainty.

“Through the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative and the development strategies of respective countries, China will provide its solutions and wisdom in areas such as infrastructure construction, the digital economy and the green economy, and play a leading role in bolstering the common development of regional countries,” Du said.

Xu, from the CASS, said the visits highlighted China’s commitment to promoting cooperation with ASEAN countries, supporting ASEAN’s central role in regional cooperation, and firmly safeguarding the multilateral trading system.

“This will provide more certainty and stability for regional cooperation and even the world economy,” Xu said.

Meanwhile, analysts said Xi’s trip underscored China’s commitment to bolstering good-neighborly relations and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation. It also demonstrated China’s dedication to supporting multilateralism and international trade rules, they noted.

Amid global challenges like trade protectionism and unilateralism, China’s efforts to build a community with a shared future with its neighbors inject fresh energy into regional and global economic growth and stability, the analysts added.

Xi reaffirmed China’s commitment to fostering friendship and partnership with neighboring nations throughout his tour.

In Vietnam, Xi said that building the China-Vietnam community with a shared future carries great global significance.

In Malaysia, he said that China is ready to work with Malaysia to build a high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future.

In Cambodia, Xi and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet agreed to build an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era and designated 2025 as the China-Cambodia Year of Tourism.

Rujipun Assarut, a senior researcher at the Kasikorn Research Center in Bangkok, Thailand, said, “Amid US tariff tensions, President Xi Jinping’s Southeast Asia trip is a well-timed and strategic move signifying how China is willing to be a dependable economic partner.

“China and the countries have signed dozens of cooperation agreements, including deals on enhancing supply chains and railway cooperation with Vietnam and upgrading joint industrial parks with Malaysia. These will strengthen cooperation in supply chains and trade promotion between China and the region.”

Positive impact

Nguyen Minh Vu, Vietnam’s permanent deputy minister of foreign affairs, said the outcomes of the Chinese president’s historic state visit are diverse and outstanding, with positive and long-term impacts on bilateral relations, according to a report by Viet Nam News, the national English-language daily.

Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Haji Mohamad bin Haji Hasan told local media on April 17 that Malaysia and China will set up a consultative council to coordinate the implementation of 31 bilateral cooperation documents signed between the two countries during Xi’s state visit.

Loh Wee Keng, chairman of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, said: “Twelve years ago, during President Xi’s first visit to Malaysia (as president), he introduced numerous projects. This year’s visit further enhances China-Malaysia cooperation, opening up more opportunities for businesses in both nations.”

He emphasized that as Washington’s new tariff policy creates global economic uncertainty, Xi’s visit to Southeast Asia was timely and will bring more economic opportunities and stability to the region.

Suthiphand Chirathivat, a professor emeritus of economics and former director of the ASEAN Studies Center at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, said Xi’s trip conveyed the message that China wants to work with ASEAN member countries for an open dialogue.

“ASEAN countries should take a pause and think about who should be trusted. It’s obvious that the US only prioritizes its own interests. As emerging economic entities in the world, China and ASEAN are important to each other and need each other,” he said.

“As economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN accelerates, trade and investment continue to grow steadily, and collaboration in industrial and supply chains is becoming increasingly close. After President Xi’s trip, I believe such relations will grow even closer with stronger mutual trust,” he added.

Chhem Kieth Rethy, senior minister and chairman of the Economic, Social, and Cultural Council of Cambodia, said he believes that building an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era will be a moment of renewal for both countries.

He said President Xi’s visit inspired greater confidence regarding the cooperation and development between the two countries.

With Cambodia’s young generation accounting for 70 percent of its total population, he expressed his hope that more people-to-people exchanges will be established among the young people, making the friendship between the two countries even more solid and lasting.

Oswald Timothy Edward, a senior lecturer at Universiti Teknologi MARA Johor in Malaysia, said Xi’s visit to the nation was timely.

China’s industrial evolution offers a valuable blueprint for Malaysia to follow, not just in terms of technology but also in embedding environmental, social, and governance principles at the core of manufacturing, he wrote in Malaysian English-language daily The Star on April 18.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn