Commentary: Xi Jinping’s visit to Vietnam is not all about Donald Trump

On:

VIETNAM’S SUBTLE SHIFT Xi’s visit offered Vietnam an opportunity to secure Chinese backing for its ambitious development agenda. Foremost among Hanoi’s priorities is advancing investment-led growth over the coming decade, necessitating enhanced infrastructure cooperation with China. While Vietnam has traditionally approached China’s Belt and Road Initiative with caution, recent developmentsContinue Reading

How the CCP Is Reshaping Religious Order in China

On:

The Diplomat author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners, and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation with Dr. Julie Yu-wen Chen – professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Helsinki in Finland and a participant in the EUContinue Reading

China's Xi meets Malaysian leaders in diplomatic charm offensive

On:

“IMPLICIT WARNING” ASEAN member Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, was slapped with 46 per cent tariffs and Cambodia — a major producer of low-cost clothing for big Western brands — was hit with a 49 per cent duty. Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, was hit with a 24 per cent tariff.Continue Reading

‘Comrades and Brothers’: Is China Pulling Vietnam Back Into Its Orbit?

On:

After Vietnam and the United States upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2023, China swiftly responded to avoid losing strategic influence in Hanoi. Three months later, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Vietnam – and this week, he returned with what is arguably theContinue Reading

Xi's Vietnam trip aiming to 'screw' US, says Trump

On:

HANOI: China’s President Xi Jinping paid tribute to Vietnam’s late revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh on Tuesday (Apr 15), his last day of a trip to Hanoi that President Donald Trump said was aiming to “screw” the United States. Xi is in Vietnam as part of a Southeast Asia tour thatContinue Reading

Xi says China to strengthen ties with neighbours, in first public speech amid US trade war escalation

On:

Joint efforts should be made to safeguard regional stability through security and law enforcement collaboration to address various risks and challenges, the Xinhua statement said, adding that China’s leadership pledged to boost people-to-people exchanges. Xi addressed the meeting just days before his expected coming visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia,Continue Reading

The Modern Triumvirate: Trump, Xi, and Musk

On:

In an unexpected re-alignment of political and economic forces, three men — a modern triumvirate of wealth and power — find themselves drawn into an increasingly complex relationship of competing and opposing forces, now at odds with the interests which originally brought them together. U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese PresidentContinue Reading