Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President, paid a State visit to neighboring Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia from April 14 to 18, emphasizing the idea of “a community with shared future” with the three nations.
In the joint statement on April 15 on accelerating the building of a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, China and Vietnam agreed to accelerate synergy between their development strategies, and implement in earnest the cooperation plan between the two governments on synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the “Two Corridors and One Economic Circle” strategy. Beijing and Hanoi also inked 45 cooperation deals. Xi and To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, also attended the launch ceremony of the China-Vietnam railway cooperation mechanism, a milestone project for the BRI. Chinese data shows that in 2024, trade between China and Vietnam reached about US$260.7 million, a 13.5 percent year-on-year increase.
On April 17, during Xi’s visit to Malaysia, which is currently the country coordinator for China-ASEAN dialogue relations and assumes the ASEAN chairmanship, the two countries released a joint statement in which both countries agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to building a high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future to accelerate modernization efforts and jointly promote regional and global prosperity and stability. They announced they will “look forward to the conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in 2026.” They have also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening rail transportation and infrastructure cooperation and contributing to the realization of the Pan-Asian Railway. A total of 26 cooperation agreements were signed during the visit. In 2024, trade between China and Malaysia exceeded US$210 billion.
In their joint statement on April 18, China and Cambodia declared they will jointly build “an all-weather community with a shared future in the new era” and fully implement the China-proposed Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative. They vowed to deepen practical cooperation across various fields, advance the construction of Cambodia’s Industrial and Technological Corridor and Fish and Rice Corridor, and strengthen collaboration in energy, transportation and other key sectors. A total of 37 cooperation agreements were signed between China and Cambodia during Xi’s visit.
At a press briefing on April 18 in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that Xi’s tour has sent a strong signal that China firmly defends multilateralism and international trade rules.
At a central conference on work related to neighboring countries held in Beijing on April 8 and 9, Xi called for building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries. The meeting emphasized the need to work with neighbors to consolidate strategic mutual trust, support regional countries in pursuing development paths suited to their respective conditions and properly manage differences.
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