Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday completed a two-day state visit to Cambodia, capping a three-nation tour that included stops in Vietnam and Malaysia at a time when all three Southeast Asian countries are facing economic challenges from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals.
China has been strongly increasing its influence in the region over the past decade, largely by exercising its substantial economic leverage. Beijing is now presenting itself as a source of stability and certainty as Trump’s tariffs threaten the region’s export-oriented economies whose largest market is generally the United States.
