China s Xi calls for greater cooperation with Vietnam

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 14 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.

The visit, planned for weeks, comes as Beijing faces 145 per cent in US duties, while Vietnam is negotiating a reduction of threatened US tariffs of 46 per cent that would otherwise apply in July after a global moratorium expires.

“The two sides should strengthen cooperation in production and supply chains,” Mr Xi said in an article in Nhandan, the newspaper of Vietnam’s Communist Party, posted ahead of his arrival on April 14.

He also urged more trade and stronger ties with Hanoi on artificial intelligence and the green economy.

“There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars,” Mr Xi added, without mentioning the US specifically.

After he met Vietnam’s 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.

The content of the agreements was not disclosed and it was unclear whether they involved any financial or binding commitments.

On April 12, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son had said around 40 agreements would be signed. A separate aviation business deal was signed on April 13.

Under pressure from Washington, Vietnam is tightening controls on some trade with China to make sure goods exported to the United States with a “Made in Vietnam” label have sufficient added value in the country to justify that.

One memorandum of understanding signed on April 14 is to boost cooperation between the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Vietnam Chamber of