Xi Jinping has urged Vietnam to resist “unilateral bullying” and uphold free and open trade, as he begins a high-stakes diplomatic tour of the region’s major export-reliant economies in a bid to position his country as a stable partner in contrast to the United States.

In his quiet moments at night, China’s President Xi Jinping probably can’t believe his luck as President Donald Trump lights fire to the U.S. economy and topples its standing in the world. Look, no one in Asia’s biggest economy is enjoying Trump’s one-man tariff arms race.

The US tariffs are aimed at boosting national security, but Trump is alienating allies he would need in any military conflict with China.