Chinese President Xi Jinping promoted the idea of an "Asian family” and called for regional unity during a tour of Southeast Asia, in an apparent effort to counter U.S. pressure on nations to limit trade ties with Beijing.
Xi landed in Phnom Penh on Thursday, kicking off the final leg of his three-nation tour as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to seek trade partners’ cooperation in encircling Beijing. The Chinese leader emphasized solidarity in a speech at a state dinner in Malaysia a day earlier, when the two nations inked wide-ranging deals in a sign of deepening economic ties.
"China and Malaysia will stand with countries in the region to combat the undercurrents of geopolitical and bloc-based confrontation,” Xi said in the Malaysian administrative capital of Putrajaya. "Together we will safeguard the bright prospects of our Asian family.”
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