BEIJING, April 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Vietnam from April 14 to 15, at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Luong Cuong, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced on Friday.

President Xi will also pay state visits to Malaysia and Cambodia from April 15 to 18, at the invitation of King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim and King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia, the spokesperson said.

The upcoming visit will be President Xi's first overseas trip this year, and bears major importance for China's relations with the three countries and ASEAN as a whole. It will also inject new impetus into the peace and development of the region and the world, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press conference on Friday.

"Neighboring countries are China's priority in its diplomacy. China and Southeast Asian countries are good neighbors, good friends and good partners with a shared future," Lin said.

The central conference on work related to neighboring countries was successfully convened recently. The meeting made it very clear that China will continue to follow the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in its neighborhood diplomacy, engage in friendly cooperation, enhance mutual understanding and trust and jointly pursue development and revitalization with its neighbors, the spokesperson said.

Against the backdrop of escalating trade frictions, Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Cambodia are facing growing pressure from the unilateral tariff hikes from certain country, which also deliver a heavy blow to the global supply chain and mutually beneficial regional cooperation, some Chinese experts said.

"In this context, China's diplomatic outreach signals confidence and stability," Zhou Fangyin, professor of the School of International Relations at Sun Yat-sen University, told the Global Times on Friday.

Just a few days ahead of the state visit, Xi called for building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries and striving to open new ground for China's neighborhood work at a central conference on work related to neighboring countries, which was held in Beijing from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

President Xi's visit to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia highlights China's sincerity to seek cooperation and forward-looking consensus with ASEAN countries amid current global uncertainties, said Ge Hongliang, vice dean of the ASEAN College at Guangxi Minzu University.

China's diplomatic stance is about emphasizing win-win cooperation and policy coordination, Ge said.

Building consensus

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing said that China and ASEAN are good neighbors, good brothers, and good partners that cannot be separated. As the most successful regional cooperation organization in Asia, ASEAN has long upheld multilateralism and an open policy, working hand in hand with China to forge a right path of good-neighborliness and shared prosperity.

This year, Malaysia has once again assumed the role of ASEAN chair and put forward the theme of "Inclusivity and Sustainability." This aligns closely with the Asian values of peace, cooperation, inclusiveness, and integration—principles that are particularly vital in today's world, where instability and uncertainty are growing, protectionism is resurging, and economic recovery remains sluggish, Ouyang said.

China will firmly support Malaysia in fulfilling its responsibilities, and will continue to stand side by side with ASEAN to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, jointly creating a peaceful, stable, prosperous, beautiful, and friendly home, the Chinese ambassador said.

In 2023, the two countries announced the decision to build a China-Malaysia community with a shared future and open up a new chapter in the bilateral relations. This visit will be President Xi Jinping's first visit to Malaysia in 12 years, which marks an important milestone in promoting the upgrading of the relations between China and Malaysia, Lin said.

Malaysia is serving as this year's rotating chair of ASEAN, making its role particularly important, Ge noted. "In addition to strengthening bilateral ties between China and Malaysia, the visit is also expected to play a key role in advancing overall China-ASEAN cooperation. Notably, the two sides may reach a principled consensus on how to respond to US tariff pressure, trade hegemony, and even economic coercion," Ge said.

China looks forward to working with Vietnam to consolidate our traditional friendship as comrades and brothers, enhance strategic mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, work for sustained and steady progress in the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future and make greater contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Lin said.

"This visit continues the high-level exchanges between China and Vietnam that began at the end of 2023 and can also be seen as a return visit to Vietnam's new leadership," Ge said.

Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam He Wei told the Global Times in an exclusive interview that "Guided by the important consensus reached by the two countries' leaders, China and Vietnam will continue to prioritize the broader interests of bilateral ties, manage differences effectively, advance practical maritime cooperation, and strive to resolve disputes through equal consultations." 

This article first appeared in the Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202504/1331953.shtml