CGTN: President Xi's Southeast Asia visits set to inject new impetus into regional development
Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, CGTN published an article on how China follows the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in its neighborhood diplomacy and how it strives to build a community with a shared future with neighboring countries.
BEIJING, April 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to three Southeast Asian countries – Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia –next week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.
The five-day tour to the neighboring countries, lasting from Monday to Friday, will be Xi's first trip abroad this year.
The visits will come days after the Chinese leader called for building a community with a shared future with China's neighboring countries at a recent central conference on neighborhood work.
Neighboring countries are China's priority in its diplomacy, and China and Southeast Asian countries are good neighbors, good friends and good partners with a shared future, said Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Friday.
The upcoming visits by the Chinese president bears major importance for China's relations with Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a whole, Lin told a daily press briefing.
The visits are also expected to inject new impetus into the peace and development of the region and the world, he added.
China and Vietnam: Camaraderie plus brotherhood
From Monday to Tuesday, Xi will travel to Vietnam for a fourth state visit as general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president. The trip coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam, two socialist neighbors that have forged an enduring bond as "camaraderie plus brotherhood."
Xi last visited Vietnam in December 2023, when both sides agreed to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, lifting bilateral relations to a new stage.
Economic and trade cooperation between China and Vietnam has developed steadily in recent years. China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner since 2004, while Vietnam has been China's largest trading partner within ASEAN since 2016. Bilateral trade volume has exceeded $200 billion for four consecutive years, reaching $260.65 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 13.5 percent, showed data of the Chinese Commerce Ministry.
Chinese enterprises' direct investment in Vietnam surpassed $2.5 billion in 2024, sustaining swift growth and making Vietnam an important overseas investment destination for China, according to the ministry.
China and Malaysia: Models of win-win cooperation
The Chinese president last visited Malaysia in 2013, when the two countries elevated ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Then a decade later, Xi and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reached an agreement in Beijing on jointly building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future.
In recent years, China and Malaysia have maintained high-level development in relations. Both sides have had frequent high-level interactions, continued to consolidate political mutual trust, achieved fruitful outcomes in practical cooperation, setting an example of mutual understanding and win-win cooperation between neighboring countries.
China-Malaysia collaboration has been expanding across the horizon. China has remained Malaysia's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, with the volume hitting an all-time high of $212.04 billion in 2024. In recent years, Malaysia's tropical fruits such as durian, mangosteen and jackfruit have become increasingly popular among Chinese consumers.
China and Malaysia are important developing countries and emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific. The upcoming visit by the Chinese leader will mark an important milestone in promoting the upgrading of the relations between China and Malaysia, said Lin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
Through this visit, China hopes to further strengthen coordination with Malaysia on regional and international issues, move the bilateral relations towards the direction of building a high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future and make new contributions to the growing strength and unity of the Global South and peace and stability in the region, he said.
China and Cambodia: Ironclad friendship
Xi last paid a state visit to Cambodia in 2016. In September 2023, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet chose China as his first official overseas destination after assuming office, a gesture reflecting Cambodia's diplomatic priority. During their meeting back then, Xi and Hun Manet pledged to further carry forward the ironclad friendship between China and Cambodia.
In recent years, China and Cambodia have continued to deepen strategic mutual trust, enrich the "Diamond Hexagon" cooperation framework, make steady progress in the building of the Industrial Development Corridor and the "Fish and Rice Corridor," achieve fruitful outcomes in cooperation across the board.
China has been Cambodia's largest foreign investor and trading partner for several consecutive years. The China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect on January 1, 2022, marks Cambodia's first-ever bilateral free trade arrangement. In 2024, the trade volume between Cambodia and China reached $15.1 billion, surging 23.8 percent year on year.
Lin said, during the upcoming visit by the Chinese president, the two sides will have discussions on elevation of bilateral relations and have an in-depth exchange of views on five areas including political mutual trust, mutually beneficial cooperation, security, cultural and people-to-people exchanges and strategic coordination.
Share this article