Xi Jinping visiting worst tariff-hit nations to 'screw' US: Trump
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump has suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping's Southeast Asia tour is aimed at harming America. This comes as Xi embarks on a five-day trip to countries that have been hit hard by Trump's tariffs, including Vietnam. The Chinese leader's visit started in Hanoi, where he met Vietnam's prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, and discussed strengthening trade ties.
US perspective
Trump's response to Xi's Vietnam visit
Reacting to Xi's meeting with Vietnamese leaders from the Oval Office, Trump said, "I don't blame China; I don't blame Vietnam. That's a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, 'how do we screw the United States of America?'" Vietnam is one of a few Southeast Asian countries feeling the effects of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. Trump had imposed a tariff rate of 46%.
Trade dynamics
Vietnam's trade relationship with China and US
Vietnam is a major industrial and assembly center for the US, a vital source of footwear, apparel, electronics, and more. Just in Q1 2025, Hanoi imported goods worth around $30 billion from Beijing, while its exports to Washington stood at $31.4 billion. At 145% tariffs, China has been the worst hit. But Xi has so far refused US demands to call on his American counterpart and seek a "deal."
Regional relations
Xi's visit seen as opportunity to strengthen ties
Xi's visit to Vietnam is seen as a chance to deepen relations with a neighbor that has attracted billions in Chinese investment in recent years. In meetings with Vietnam's top leadership, Xi said the two countries should work together to maintain "the stability of the global free trade system and industrial and supply chains," Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, reported. "China's mega market is always open to Vietnam."
Trade philosophy
Xi's stance on trade wars and protectionism
In a Vietnam's Communist party newspaper Nhandan, Xi wrote there are "no winners in trade wars and tariff wars" and that protectionism "leads nowhere." Trump has paused his "reciprocal" tariffs on other countries for 90 days, focusing the fight entirely on China. Some Southeast Asian nations, however, are concerned about being inundated with cheap Chinese products now barred from US markets. China already has a trade surplus with Vietnam, exporting 1.6 times the value it imports from its southern neighbor.