Protectionism 'leads nowhere', Xi warns

Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned that protectionism "leads nowhere" and that a trade war would have "no winners", state media said, as he held talks in Vietnam on Monday on the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour.

- Agencies

HANOI:

Xi is in Vietnam for the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour, as Beijing tries to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic US President Donald Trump, who announced — and then mostly reversed — sweeping tariffs this month.

Vietnam was Southeast Asia's biggest buyer of Chinese goods in 2024, with a bill of $161.9 billion, followed by Malaysia with Chinese imports worth $101.5 billion.