China courts neighbours
China is using U.S. policy unpredictability as a diplomatic opening to deepen ties with Vietnam and other regional partners, with Xi Jinping stressing closer security links during a Vietnam visit and analysts saying China’s security relationship with Vietnam now runs deeper than America’s. (nytimes.com) At the same time Beijing is expanding commercial reach in Africa — quarterly exports rose by more than $60bn led by machinery and high-tech goods — a shift analysts link to U.S. policy volatility rerouting trade. (scmp.com)
China is using U.S. volatility to pull neighbours and trading partners closer, tightening political ties in Vietnam and selling more machinery and tech goods across Africa. (english.www.gov.cn) (scmp.com) Xi Jinping visited Hanoi on April 14-15, 2025, met Vietnam’s top leader To Lam, and the two sides said they would raise strategic trust and signed 45 cooperation documents, including on rail links and supply chains. (english.www.gov.cn) (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) In the joint statements released after the visit, China and Vietnam said they would deepen security cooperation and jointly oppose “unilateralism” and actions that threaten regional stability. (english.www.gov.cn 1) (english.www.gov.cn 2) That language landed as Vietnam has been edging closer to China’s governing model, according to a Reuters analysis published April 13, 2026, even as Hanoi still tries to balance ties with both Beijing and Washington. (usnews.com) (nst.com.my) On trade, the same pattern is showing up beyond Asia. China’s exports to Africa rose 32.1% in the first quarter of 2026 to $60.66 billion, making Africa its fastest-growing export market, led by machinery and high-tech products. (scmp.com) China’s overall goods exports rose 11.9% year on year in the first quarter to 6.85 trillion yuan, or about $940 billion, according to customs data released April 14. (english.www.gov.cn) Beijing has been spreading that growth across more markets. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China’s largest trading partner in the first two months of 2026, with two-way trade above 1.24 trillion yuan, up 20.3% from a year earlier. (english.www.gov.cn) Africa has become a bigger piece of that diversification drive over time. China’s total trade with African countries reached 2.1 trillion yuan in 2024, up from less than 100 billion yuan in 2000, according to Chinese customs data released in June 2025. (english.www.gov.cn) Vietnam is not simply choosing one side. Hanoi has long tried to keep working ties with Washington while managing a far larger and closer relationship with China, a neighbour, top trade partner and maritime rival in the South China Sea. (usnews.com) (nst.com.my) The result is a two-track push from Beijing: more security language and party-to-party coordination on its border, and more export sales in markets far from it. (english.www.gov.cn) (scmp.com)
