China’s Xi next week to visit Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia

ISTANBUL

China’s President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia next week, an official statement said Friday.

On Monday, Xi will start a two-day visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese Communist Party Secretary General To Lam, the Foreign Ministry said.

This will be the Chinese leader’s first overseas trip this year.

Later, Xi will fly to Malaysia at the invitation of King Sultan Ibrahim, it added.

The three-nation Southeast Asian tour will conclude next Friday, with a trip to Cambodia at the invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni.

Xi has pledged to strengthen ties with neighboring nations by “appropriately” managing Beijing’s differences with them.

While China has strong economic ties with all three nations, it also has competing maritime claims with Vietnam as well as Malaysia among other member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations over the South China Sea.

The trip comes amid a raging trade war between China and the US over tit-for-tat tariffs.