UPDATED April 17, 2025, 10:30 a.m. ET
BANGKOK – Chinese President Xi Jinping ramped up rhetoric of unity in the face of protectionism and shocks to the global order as he continued his Southeast Asian tour on Thursday amid a tariff war with the United States.
China is in need of allies after the imposition of 145% tariffs on its exports to the U.S., Washington’s restrictions on its semiconductors and other trade barriers. President Donald Trump’s administration says it is retaliating due to China’s trade surplus, its shipments of synthetic opioids and restrictions on U.S. investment.
“China stood steadfastly with Cambodia in its just struggle against foreign invasion and for national sovereignty and independence,” Xi said in comments published by Cambodia newspapers including the English-language Khmer Times, ahead of his arrival from Malaysia.
“Together, the two countries have shared the rough times and the smooth and consistently supported each other in times of need,” Xi said.
Cambodia has had an often-torrid modern history, marked by intervention by outside powers. The Southeast Asian country was bombed by the U.S. during the 1954-75 Vietnam War and was invaded by Vietnam in 1978, forcing out the genocidal Pol Pot regime that came to power in the aftermath of the Cold War-era conflict.
Beijing was the main foreign backer of the communist Khmer Rouge under whose three-and-a-half-year rule a quarter of Cambodia’s population died. The 50th anniversary of the regime’s takeover of the country on April 17, 1975, coincides with Xi’s visit.
Today, China is the biggest investor in Cambodia, constructing roads, airports and ports. It is also the biggest exporter to the kingdom.
The U.S. is concerned that China has also gained a security foothold by supporting the recently completed upgrade of a Cambodian naval base.
The theme of unity in the face of unnamed adversaries has been a recurring theme in Xi’s Southeast Asian tour, which began on Monday in Vietnam before moving to Malaysia, where Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hosted Xi at a welcome dinner on Wednesday.
“In the face of shocks to global order and economic globalization, China and Malaysia will stand with countries in the region to combat the undercurrents of geopolitical and camp-based confrontation, as well as the counter-currents of unilateralism and protectionism,” Xi said, without naming the camp it saw as its biggest threat.
Xi discussed green technology, artificial intelligence and a US$11.2 billion railway project during a meeting with the Malaysian king, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar on Wednesday, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
China is the biggest exporter to Malaysia and the country’s biggest investor. The same is true of Vietnam, where Xi signed 45 agreements on areas such as improved supply chains and a railway project.
China had been working on a decoupling strategy long before Trump took up his second term as U.S. president this year. By 2023, nearly two thirds of its economic growth was driven by domestic consumption, World Bank data show.
“At the same time, China has pursued deeper economic integration with the rest of the world,” according to Lili Yang Ing, secretary general of the International Economic Association.
“The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, now the world’s largest trade bloc, exemplifies China’s pivot toward Asia,” she said.
“Beijing has also strengthened Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with (Southeast Asian regional bloc) ASEAN, South Korea, and several Middle Eastern economies, while negotiating new agreements in Africa and Latin America,” Ing said.
“These diversified trade and investment channels buffer China from U.S. pressure.”
Southeast Asian nations could also help in the face of America’s call on them to cut their trade surpluses and stop re-exporting Chinese goods as their own.
While Trump declared a three-month cut to 10% on “retaliatory tariffs” against Southeast Asian nations, they face a return to some of the highest U.S. tariffs in the world if trade talks are unsuccessful after those 90 days are up: 24% for Malaysia, 46% for Vietnam and 49% on Cambodian exports.
Um Sam An, a former Cambodian opposition lawmaker, cautioned against Cambodia - which is a major exporter of garments and footwear to the United States - taking sides in the trade war.
“If Cambodia joins forces with China in the trade war against the U.S., for sure, Cambodia will receive severe punishment from the U.S.,“ he told RFA Khmer. ”Therefore, Cambodia should not take sides, and should take an independent stand and negotiate with the U.S.”
RFA Khmer contributed reporting. Edited by Taejun Kang, Stephen Wright and Mat Pennington.
Updated with comment from Cambodian opposition supporter, adds background.