Author: Wang Zheng
Published: 15 Jaunuary 2026
ISEAS Perspective 2026/3
The spate of diplomatic tours by Chinese leaders to Southeast Asia in the late spring of 2025 unfolded against the escalating U.S.-China trade war, which culminated in early April with President Donald Trump announcing his “Liberation Day” plan—a sweeping tariff policy including a 145% duty on Chinese imports. On 18 April, President Xi Jinping concluded his state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia. A month later, Chinese Premier Li Qiang traveled to Indonesia and attended the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit in Kuala Lumpur. Table 1 provides a summary of Chinese leaders’ recent trips to Southeast Asia. China inked 125 bilateral cooperation agreements with four countries, covering areas such as economic integration, digital transformation, transportation connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges., 15 January 2026
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