HANOI: China\u2019s President Xi Jinping paid tribute to Vietnam\u2019s late revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh on Tuesday, his last day of a trip to Hanoi that President Donald Trump said was aiming to \u201cscrew\u201d the United States.
\nXi is in Vietnam as part of a Southeast Asia tour that will include Malaysia and Cambodia, with Beijing trying to position itself as a stable alternative to Trump as leaders confront US tariffs.
\nThe Chinese leader called on his country and Vietnam Monday to \u201coppose unilateral bullying and uphold the stability of the global free trade system,\u201d according to Beijing\u2019s state media.
\nHours later, Trump told reporters at the White House that their meeting was aimed at hurting the United States.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t blame China. I don\u2019t blame Vietnam. I don\u2019t. I see they\u2019re meeting today, and that\u2019s wonderful,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s a lovely meeting… like trying to figure out, how do we screw the United States of America.\u201d
\nChina and Vietnam signed 45 cooperation agreements on Monday, including on supply chains, artificial intelligence, joint maritime patrols and railway development.
\nXi said a meeting with Vietnam\u2019s top leader To Lam on Monday that their countries were \u201cstanding at the turning point of history… and should move forward with joint hands.\u201d
\nLam said after the talks that the two leaders \u201creached many important and comprehensive common perceptions,\u201d according to Vietnam News Agency.
\nOn the final day of his visit, Xi laid a red wreath emblazoned with his name and the words \u201cLong live Vietnam\u2019s great leader President Ho Chi Minh\u201d at the late leader\u2019s mausoleum in central Hanoi.
\nHe is also due to attend the launch of the Vietnam-China Railway Cooperation, which will help manage an $8-billion rail project \u2013 announced this year \u2013 to link Vietnam\u2019s largest northern port city to the border with China.
\nXi\u2019s trip comes almost two weeks after the United States \u2013 the biggest export market for Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, in the first three months of the year \u2013 imposed a 46 percent levy on Vietnamese goods as part of a global tariff blitz.
\nAlthough the US tariffs on Vietnam and most other countries have been paused, China still faces enormous levies and is seeking to tighten regional trade ties and offset their impact during Xi\u2019s first overseas trip of the year.
\nXi will head to Malaysia later Tuesday and then Cambodia on a tour that \u201cbears major importance\u201d for the broader region, Beijing has said.
\nXi earlier urged Vietnam and China to \u201cresolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment.\u201d
\nHe also reiterated Beijing\u2019s line that a \u201ctrade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere\u201d in an article published on Monday in Vietnam\u2019s major state-run Nhan Dan newspaper.
\nChina and Vietnam, both ruled by communist parties, already share a \u201ccomprehensive strategic partnership,\u201d Hanoi\u2019s highest diplomatic status.
\nVietnam has long pursued a \u201cbamboo diplomacy\u201d approach \u2013 striving to stay on good terms with both China and the United States.
\nThe two countries have close economic ties, but Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijing\u2019s increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HANOI: China\u2019s President Xi Jinping paid tribute to Vietnam\u2019s late revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh on Tuesday, his last day of a trip to Hanoi that President Donald Trump said was aiming to \u201cscrew\u201d the United States. Xi is in Vietnam as part of a Southeast Asia tour that will include Malaysia and Cambodia, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472628,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-472619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n