Going a Courting: China Woos Neighbors to Beat US Trade War
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Going a Courting: China Woos Neighbors to Beat US Trade War
CHINA
Chinese leader Xi Jinping took his first overseas trip of this year, arriving in Vietnam on Monday before heading to Malaysia and Cambodia for meet-and-greets with Southeast Asian leaders.
The long-scheduled trip was aimed at discussions on investment and infrastructure, and also to remind China’s smaller neighbors who the heavyweight in the region is.
Instead, in the wake of steep US tariffs imposed on China, the trip turned into a charm offensive to woo these countries into deepening their relationships with China in order to isolate the United States.
“The fact that Xi Jinping is coming to visit these countries is very significant,” Lynette Ong, professor of Chinese politics at the University of Toronto, told Bloomberg. “I would read it as Xi’s attempt to form alliances to fight back against the United States in the trade war.”
Last week, US President Donald Trump rattled markets worldwide when he imposed steep tariffs on US trading partners around the world. After then pausing most tariffs for 90 days, he instead raised levies on China to 145 percent to punish the country after it retaliated by hiking tariffs on US goods.
The trade war and the tariffs, despite the reprieve, have left Southeast Asia rattled, say analysts. All three countries face steep tariffs: Vietnam, 46 percent tariffs; Malaysia, 24 percent; and Cambodia, 49 percent. As a result, the three nations, which have long tried to balance their relations between China and the US, face an impossible choice: Cut off trade with one of their biggest trading partners, China, or face tariffs that could cripple their development.
Enter Xi to present a way out.
Xi’s visit is intended to show these countries that it is a “responsible superpower in a way that contrasts with the way the US under President Donald Trump presents to the whole world,” Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, told the Associated Press. At the same time, “The trip to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia is all about how China can really insulate itself from Trump.”
After arriving in Vietnam, Xi told his hosts that China, the world’s second largest economy, is a more stable choice than the US under the current administration and that together, both Vietnam and China could prosper to new heights.
“There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars, and there is no way out of protectionism,” Xi wrote in an editorial in Nhan Dan, a Vietnamese daily close to the government, on the day of his arrival. “We must firmly defend the multilateral trading system, sustainably maintain the stability of global production and supply chains, and sustainably maintain an open and cooperative international environment.”
“It is necessary to strengthen coordination,” he added, “to create more and more stability and positive energy for today’s volatile world.”
Vietnam has a tricky relationship with China, its largest trade partner. On the one hand, there is deep distrust due to territorial disputes in the South China Sea. On the other, Vietnam is dependent on Chinese supply chains, especially for components and raw materials.
Still, Xi didn’t leave empty-handed. The two sides signed a series of memorandums, whose details were not made public, but likely involve deepening Chinese support for technology transfer, infrastructure projects, and manufacturing. And, China and Vietnam agreed to accelerate the construction of an $8 billion railway project connecting the two countries.
But Vietnam, like Cambodia and Malaysia, remains caught between both the US and China, as they have all helped China to bypass prior US tariffs for Chinese exports in the past.
“We will want to hear from countries including Cambodia … and Vietnam that you will stop allowing China to evade US tariffs by trans-shipping exports through your countries,” wrote Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior adviser for trade and manufacturing, in the Financial Times.
Vietnamese officials said last week the country was taking “urgent steps” to address the issue, with the trade ministry now set to “review and strictly control” the origin of goods to “prevent any unfortunate incidents from happening.”
Still, Vietnam worries like other countries in Southeast Asia that Chinese goods otherwise bound for America will now be dumped on them to the detriment of domestic manufacturers.
In Malaysia, meanwhile, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is trying to negotiate with the US over the tariffs even as he has created closer ties with China, and especially Xi: Last year, the two countries pledged to deepen economic ties, renewed a five-year trade and investment agreement, and agreed on a joint $10 billion rail project.
However, Malaysia exports slightly more goods to the US than to China, and tariffs could bite, especially regarding Malaysia’s semiconductor exports. Nonetheless, as World Politics Review noted, the country was already preparing for such a trade war.
“In January, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told lawmakers that the country must prepare by diversifying its export markets and taking ‘proactive steps … to aggressively open a wider network of trading partners,’” it wrote. “(It) also predicted that it was possible to ride out the ‘initial shock’ of the Trump administration’s policies.”
With Cambodia, Xi knows he has a solid friend. The country has long been pro-China and depends heavily on China for investment, trade, and funding for infrastructure: For example, China helped fund its new international airport in the capital of Phnom Penh, which is slated to open this summer. Its economy is also highly intertwined with China’s.
Still, the US announcement of the tariffs was devastating to Cambodians: They would decimate the country’s garment industry, which accounts for more than half of the country’s export revenue. Cambodia sells most of its goods to the US.
As a result, the Cambodians welcomed Xi’s visit.
“We are a small state, punished by the US,” one Cambodian official told the Economist. “And now Xi Jinping, as the leader of the second-largest economy, comes to us. So that helps to build our confidence. It is very emotional.”
China says it will “fight to the end” in the trade war. It certainly will impact the country, however. The spat comes as China struggles with deflation, a housing bust, and demographic woes. For years, it has encouraged weak consumption and “exported its overcapacity, swamping the world with goods.”
Still, analysts say now that with trade deals and moves to enhance cooperation with other trading partners such as the European Union, South America and elsewhere, China can likely weather the trade war without making concessions, even if it hurts its economy in the short term.
“Unlike the first US-China trade war during Trump’s initial term, when Beijing eagerly sought to negotiate with the US, China now holds far more leverage,” wrote Linggong Kong of Auburn University in the Conversation. “Indeed, Beijing believes it can inflict at least as much damage on the US as vice versa, while at the same time expanding its global position.”
“In a trade war with the US, China holds a lot more cards than Trump may think,” he added. “In fact, it might have a winning hand.”
Regardless, analysts say to expect more displays of Chinese soft power in the future.
“What Xi is trying to do now is to go there in person – instead of fear and pressure, Xi is going to show them love, maybe some ‘souvenirs’ along the way,” Wen-ti Sung, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, told CNN, referring to new trade deals and other enticements. “All these are ways for China to show that I’m on your side. It’s safe to hang out with China, especially if you’re concerned about the US.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
World Leaders Gather In UK To Push Peace For Sudan
SUDAN
A major international conference aimed at ending Sudan’s two-year civil war opened in the British capital London Tuesday as world leaders pledged millions in humanitarian aid while condemning an attack on a refugee camp in Darfur over the weekend that killed hundreds, saying it undermines peace talks, the BBC reported.
The conference – co-hosted by the United Kingdom, European Union and African Union – opened on the second anniversary of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began on April 15, 2023, following a falling out between the leaders of the army and the RSF over the political future of the country.
Since then, tens of thousands of Sudanese have been killed and more than 12 million people displaced amid widespread reports of war crimes, including beheadings and mass rape. The war has left more than 30 million people in need of humanitarian aid.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the conference is aimed at finding “a pathway to peace” in Sudan while describing the situation there as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
He announced $158 million in new aid for food and medical assistance. Other attendees’ pledges brought the total to more than $1 billion.
African Union envoy, Bankole Adeoye, told the conference attendees that “there can be no military solution in Sudan, only an immediate, unconditional cessation of hostilities.”
Tuesday’s conference comes a few days after the RSF launched a major assault on Darfur’s Zamzam camp near the north Darfur capital, El Fasher, home to an estimated 700,000 internally displaced people.
Satellite imagery reviewed by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab confirmed the camp was largely destroyed by arson, while Médecins Sans Frontières reported at least 20,000 people fled to the town of Tawila in northern Darfur in just two days. Tens of thousands more were forced to flee.
Witnesses described atrocities committed by RSF fighters, including executions, looting, and arson. Nine medical workers from Relief International were reportedly killed, and the Sudanese American Physicians Association said a children’s clinic manager was also among the dead, according to the Guardian.
On Tuesday, the RSF announced a rival government in Sudan.
Meanwhile, neither the SAF nor the RSF were invited to the conference. Instead, they will be represented by regional actors, including Kenya and the United Arab Emirates, both of which have been accused of backing the RSF. The UAE is accused of being complicit in genocide in a complaint filed at the International Court of Justice by the government of Sudan.
Kenya has denied supporting the paramilitary group, while the UAE has denied supplying weapons or being linked to any other misconduct in the country.
However, an information blackout imposed by the government on the attack on the Zamzam camp has prompted calls by Sudanese civilians and human rights activists to restore communications in Darfur.
The blackout has left survivors unable to reach family members or assistance and has made human rights monitoring nearly impossible. Much of the limited information about Zamzam has come from RSF videos or costly and unreliable satellite connections.
Hungary Changes Constitution to ‘Help’ Children
HUNGARY
Hungarian lawmakers this week amended the constitution to allow the government to ban public LGBTQ community events and temporarily revoke the citizenship of individuals who hold dual nationality, a move critics say is another crackdown on civil liberties, France 24 reported.
The amendment, which required a two-thirds vote, passed along party lines with 140 votes for and 21 against. It was pushed by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition led by populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, with officials saying the measures are necessary to protect youth.
The amendment says that children’s rights to moral, physical, and spiritual development supersede any right other than the right to life, including that of peaceful assembly, the Associated Press wrote.
Hungary’s contentious “child protection” legislation prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors aged under 18.
Critics say the amendment and the child-protection legislation comprise a ruse to justify the prohibition of LGBTQ events like the popular Budapest Pride week, attended by thousands, but which is also already banned by a law that allows authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify and fine those attending the festivities.
They add that the measures do little to protect children and are being used to distract from more serious problems facing the country and to mobilize Orbán’s right-wing base ahead of elections in 2026.
The amendment also sets a rule that individuals can only be classified as male or female according to the constitution, an expansion of a previous law prohibiting same-sex adoptions.
Another change to the constitution allows the government to temporarily suspend the citizenship of Hungarian dual nationals – those from outside Europe – if they are considered dangerous for public order, public security, or national security.
Analysts say the changes are in line with Orbán’s assault on government critics like media outlets and civil liberties groups, which he accuses of undermining Hungary’s sovereignty by receiving economic assistance from international donors.
Family Ties: Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant for British Lawmaker Accused of Corruption
BANGLADESH
A judge in Bangladesh this week issued an arrest warrant on charges of corruption for British lawmaker and former governing Labour Party minister Tulip Siddiq, niece of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed by a mass uprising in August after 15 years of rule, the Associated Press wrote.
Senior Special Judge of Dhaka Metropolitan, Zakir Hossain, issued the order on Sunday after reviewing charges in three separate cases filed by the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC): It has been investigating allegations involving Siddiq and her family – including Hasina – illegally acquiring land in a government township project near Dhaka, the capital.
More than 50 people were named in the arrest warrant, including her mother and brother.
The Bangladesh Awami League, the party of Hasina, dismissed the charges as politically motivated.
Bangladesh is considered by the United Kingdom as a 2B extradition country, meaning that ministers and judges require clear evidence before approving such a request, according to the BBC.
Siddiq, responsible for tackling corruption in financial markets, was also implicated in December in an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh involving Hasina in which the former leader and her family are accused of embezzling as much as $4.9 billion from infrastructure projects in the country. Investigators say Siddiq allegedly facilitated a 2013 deal with Russia for a nuclear power plant to be built in the country at an inflated cost.
Siddiq quit her post as minister in January, saying that even if she was cleared of wrongdoings, she was stepping down to prevent the matter from becoming a distraction for the government.
DISCOVERIES
Olfactory Devotion
Sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome are considered the epitome of grace.
It might be surprising to learn they smelled good, too.
A new study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology found that Greco-Roman statues were perfumed with sweet-smelling fragrances like rose and beeswax.
“(These are) not merely decorative but symbolic, enhancing the religious and cultural significance of these sculptures,” wrote the Greek City Times. “This revelation challenges the long-held view of classical sculpture as merely a visual art form, introducing a multi-sensory dimension to our understanding of antiquity.”
Study author Cecilie Brøns was inspired to investigate the scent of these artifacts after she noticed mention of sweet-smelling statues while reading ancient Greco-Roman texts by famous authors, such as Vitruvius, Pausanias, and Pliny the Elder, wrote the Smithsonian Magazine.
She found that many authors referenced fragrant statues of deities, such as the Greek goddess Artemis, but also those depicting rulers, such as Egypt’s Berenice II.
Artists applied fragrances not only to make the statues smell good but also to enhance the religious and cultural significance of these art pieces.
The statues could be covered in a mixture of waxes and oils in a process known as “ganosis” – which was well-documented by Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder – to preserve the integrity of sculptures over time.
Beyond preservation, the process of decoration – known as “kosmesis” – included visual embellishments and the application of perfumes, mirroring the care given to humans. Pausanias, for example, wrote about how the Statue of Zeus at Olympia was anointed with olive oil to shield its ivory from moisture.
Brøns wrote in her paper how viewing the statues was not only a visual experience “but also an olfactory one.”
This sensory aspect highlights the deep reverence for certain statues and emphasizes their preservation and adornment as acts of devotion.