Hanoi: The Chinese president on Monday called for stronger ties with Vietnam amid the damage caused by U.S. tariffs as he participated in the signing of dozens of cooperation agreements between the two communist countries.

The visit was planned for weeks in Southeast Asia and a wider journey, while Beijing faces a 145% U.S. responsibility, while Vietnam is negotiating to reduce threatening U.S. tariffs that would otherwise apply in July after the expiration of Mota Island worldwide.

“The two sides should strengthen cooperation in production and supply chains,” Xi Jinping said in an article in Vietnam’s Communist newspaper Nhandan. He also urged trade and stronger ties with Hanoi on artificial intelligence and green economy.

Xi Jinping added: “There is no winner in the trade war and the tariff war.”

After he met Vietnam’s supreme leader to Lin’s leader, the two countries signed dozens of cooperation agreements to review videos of documents Reuters It shows that, including transactions regarding strengthening supply chain and railway cooperation.

The contents of the agreement have not been disclosed and it is not clear whether they involve any financial or binding commitments.

On Saturday, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son said about 40 agreements would be signed. A separate aviation business deal was signed on Sunday.

Under pressure from Washington, Vietnam is strengthening control over certain trade with China to ensure that goods exported to the United States under the “Made in Vietnam” label have enough added value in the country to prove this.

A memorandum of understanding signed on Monday was to promote cooperation between the China International Trade Commission and Vietnam’s industry and commerce, which issued a certificate on the origin of goods.

Vietnam is the main industrial and assembly hub in Southeast Asia. Most of its imports come from China, and the United States is its main export market. The country is a key source of electronics, shoes and clothing in the United States.

Vietnam Customs data shows that Hanoi imported goods worth about $30 billion in the first three months of this year, while its exports to Washington were $31.4 billion, which is shown by Vietnam’s customs data, confirming China’s long-term trend, where the value of imports from China matches the value of exports closely with the value of exports.

Railway links, planes

After two days of working in Hanoi, Xi Jinping will visit Malaysia and Cambodia from April 15 to 18 to continue his trip to Southeast Asia. He last visited Cambodia and Malaysia nine years ago and 12 years ago.

Xi Jinping’s trip to Hanoi is his second in less than 18 months, aiming to consolidate relations with his neighbors, and has gained billions of dollars in Chinese investment in recent years as Chinese manufacturers move south to avoid the first Trump administration’s tariffs.

Vietnam said in an article published in state media on Monday that Hanoi hopes to promote cooperation in defense, security and infrastructure, especially on railways.

Vietnam has agreed to use Chinese loans to build new railways between the two countries, a major confidence-building step that will promote bilateral trade and ties.

However, a loan agreement has not been announced.

After extending the pressure, Beijing has obtained Vietnam’s approval of a plane authorized by Chinese aviation regulators, which paved the way for the use of China-made Comac passenger aircraft in Southeast Asian countries.

Hanoi acknowledged that China’s regulators were equal to those of the U.S. and the EU, and disclosed on the government’s government’s portal on Monday, according to a decree approved the day before Xi Jinping arrived.

The COMAC aircraft is operated by several Chinese companies, but so far, efforts have been made to find foreign buyers or approvals abroad.

Vietnam’s low-cost airlines Vietnam Airlines and COMAC signed a memorandum of understanding in Hanoi on Sunday. Reuters.

A painted Comac C909 aircraft with Vietjet and the logo of China Chengdu Airlines stopped at Hanoi International Airport on Monday.

The contents of the agreement have not been announced yet, but Reuters In the past few weeks, Vietnam Airlines will reportedly lease two Comac C909 aircraft under the draft agreement, operated by Chengdu Airlines crews on two domestic routes.

Despite strong economic ties, tensions between the two countries often surface on the disputed borders in the South China Sea.

Vietnam’s concessions to avoid tariffs from the United States may also anger Beijing, as they include the deployment of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communication service in Southeast Asian countries, and also include crackdowns on possible fraudulent practices of the rules of origin against certain trade with China.

Vietnam has also imposed anti-dumping duties on several Chinese steel products in recent months and ended tax exemptions for low-value parcels, a tax that government officials say aims to reduce inflows of cheap Chinese goods.

Xi Jinping’s Southeast Asia itinerary, Cambodia and Malaysia’s other two countries face 49% and 24% of U.S. responsibilities respectively, and have begun contact with the U.S. to seek probation.

Reports by Francesco Guarasio, Khanh Vu and Phuong Nguyen, Thinh Nguyen, Athit Perawongmetha in Hanoi, Liz Lee in Beijing; Writing by Francesco Guarasio; Editors by Himani Sarkar, Lincoln Feast and Hugh Lawson.