Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cambodia on Thursday for the last leg of his week-long tour of Southeast Asia, which included earlier stops in Vietnam and Malaysia.

Although his visit was scheduled months ago, it fell at an opportune moment for Beijing, with the international trade system in disarray because of the actions of US President Donald Trump.

On April 2, Trump launched his tariff onslaught, unveiling steep "reciprocal" duties on goods coming into the US from most of its trading partners, including 49% tariffs on products from Cambodia, 46% on those coming from Vietnam and between 20%-30% on most other Southeast Asian countries.

The tariff turmoil has hit trade and investment flows as well as financial markets. Most countries, including in Southeast Asia, are currently predicting a major global economic downturn.

Several agencies have cut their growth forecasts for the region this year.

Shortly after the high tariffs came into effect on April 9, Trump announced that the new duties would be paused for 90 days — except those on China which faces combined tariffs of 145% — while the US negotiates bespoke deals with each country.

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At a meeting with Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam on Monday, Xi said that their two countries "have brought the world valuable stability and certainty" in a "turbulent world."

The world is "standing at the turning point of history," Xi said, and China and Southeast Asian states "should move forward with joint hands."

Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War........

© Deutsche Welle