As the U.S.-China trade war heats up, Chinese President Xi Jinping recently traveled to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia to call for a ‘united front’ against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. In response, Trump accused Beijing and Hanoi of discussing “How do we screw the United States of America?” Given Vietnam’s economic reliance on China — its largest trade partner — as well as on the United States, how can it successfully balance these rivals? And will Xi’s charm offensive be enough to woo these ASEAN members away from Washington? In this episode, we discuss Xi’s Southeast Asia outreach, Vietnam’s shifting geopolitical position, and how the trade war is shaking up alliances and loyalties across the region.
Our guests:
William Stanton
- Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director
Christina Chen
- INDSR Division of Chinese Politics, Military and Warfighting Concepts Assistant Research Fellow
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