Vietnam tightens controls on China trade under US pressure, countries sign agreements on rail links, supply chains
\n HANOI
\nChina\u2019s President Xi Jinping on Monday called for stronger ties with Vietnam on trade and supply chains amid disruptions caused by US tariffs, as he attended in Hanoi the signing of dozens of cooperation agreements between the two Communist-run nations.
\nThe visit, planned for weeks and part of a wider trip in Southeast Asia, comes as Beijing faces 145% US duties, while Vietnam is negotiating a reduction of threatened US tariffs of 46% that would otherwise apply in July after a global moratorium expires.
\n\u201cThe two sides should strengthen cooperation in production and supply chains,\u201d Xi said in an article in Nhandan, the newspaper of Vietnam\u2019s Communist Party, posted ahead of his arrival on Monday. He also urged more trade and stronger ties with Hanoi on artificial intelligence and the green economy.
\n\u201cThere are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars,\u201d Xi added, without mentioning the US specifically.
\nAfter he met Vietnam\u2019s top leader To Lam, the two countries signed dozens of cooperation agreements, footage of the documents reviewed by Reuters showed, including deals on enhancing supply chains and on cooperation over railways.
\nThe content of the agreements was not disclosed and it was unclear whether they involved any financial or binding commitments.
\nOn Saturday Vietnam\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son had said around 40 agreements would be signed. A separate aviation business deal was signed on Sunday.
\nUnder pressure from Washington, Vietnam is tightening controls on some trade with China to make sure goods exported to the United States with a \u201cMade in Vietnam\u201d label have sufficient added value in the country to justify that.
\nOne memorandum of understanding signed on Monday is to boost cooperation between the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which issues certificates on the origins of goods.
\nVietnam is a major industrial and assembly hub in Southeast Asia. Most of its imports are from China while the United States is its main export market. The country is a crucial source of electronics, shoes and apparel for the United States.
\nIn the first three months of this year Hanoi imported goods worth about $30 billion from Beijing while its exports to Washington amounted to $31.4 billion, Vietnam\u2019s customs data show, confirming a long-term trend in which imports from China closely match the value and swings of exports to the US.
\nRail links, planes
\nAfter a two-day stop in Hanoi, Xi will continue his Southeast Asian trip on Tuesday by visiting Malaysia and Cambodia from April 15 to 18. He last visited Cambodia and Malaysia nine and 12 years ago, respectively.
\nXi\u2019s trip to Hanoi, his second in less than 18 months, aims to consolidate relations with a neighbour that has received billions of dollars of Chinese investments in recent years as China-based manufacturers moved south to avoid tariffs imposed by the first Trump administration.
\nVietnam\u2019s Lam in an article published on Monday on state media said Hanoi wanted to boost cooperation in defence, security and infrastructure, especially on rail links.
\nVietnam has agreed to use Chinese loans to build new railways between the two countries, in a major confidence-building step that would boost bilateral trade and connections.
\nHowever, no loan agreement has yet been announced.
\nAfter prolonged pressure, Beijing obtained Vietnam\u2019s approval for planes authorised by the Chinese aviation regulator, which paves the way for the use of China-made COMAC passenger jets in the Southeast Asian nation.
\nHanoi recognised China\u2019s regulator as equal to those of the United States and the European Union, according to a decree the government approved the day before Xi arrived, and disclosed on the government portal on Monday.
\nCOMAC planes are operated by several Chinese companies but have so far struggled to find foreign buyers or be approved abroad.
\nOn Sunday, Vietnam\u2019s budget airline VietJet and COMAC signed a memorandum of understanding in Hanoi, according to an invitation to the event seen by Reuters.
\nOne COMAC C909 regional plane with Vietjet\u2019s livery and the logo of China\u2019s Chengdu Airlines was parked on Monday at Hanoi international airport.
\nThe content of the agreement has not been announced yet, but Reuters reported in past weeks that under a draft deal, Vietjet would lease two COMAC C909 planes, operated by crew from Chengdu Airlines, on two domestic routes.
\nDespite strong economic ties, tensions frequently surface between the two countries over contested boundaries in the South China Sea.
\nVietnam\u2019s concessions to the US to avoid tariffs may also irritate Beijing, as they include the deployment of Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink satellite communication service in the Southeast Asian nation, in addition to the crackdown on some trade with China over possible fraud on rules of origin.
\nVietnam, in recent months, has also imposed anti-dumping duties on several Chinese steel products and ended a tax waiver for low-value parcels in a move that government officials described as aimed at reducing the inflow of cheap Chinese goods.
\nThe two other countries on Xi\u2019s Southeast Asia itinerary, Cambodia and Malaysia, are facing US duties of 49% and 24% respectively, and have already begun reaching out to the US to seek a reprieve.
\nReporting by Francesco Guarascio, Khanh Vu and Phuong Nguyen, Thinh Nguyen, Athit Perawongmetha in Hanoi, Liz Lee in Beijing; Writing by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Lincoln Feast and Hugh Lawson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Vietnam tightens controls on China trade under US pressure, countries sign agreements on rail links, supply chains HANOI China\u2019s President Xi Jinping on Monday called for stronger ties with Vietnam on trade and supply chains amid disruptions caused by US tariffs, as he attended in Hanoi the signing of dozens of cooperation agreements between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-472547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n