Chinese President Xi Jinping will begin his diplomatic tour of Southeast Asian nations next week to seek economic cooperation. This comes as the region grapples with US President Donald Trump's tariff policy.



Xi will visit Vietnam first on Monday. He will hold talks with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam and other senior officials.



China and Vietnam have strong economic relations despite territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
The leaders are likely to discuss trade expansion and a railway project to link a Chinese border area to northern Vietnam cities like Hanoi and Haiphong.



Xi is also scheduled to hold summits in Malaysia and Cambodia. On Tuesday, he will stop in Malaysia. Malaysia's communications minister reportedly said hosting him is part of efforts to improve trade ties with other countries, including China. From Thursday, Xi will visit Cambodia.