Xi visited Vietnam as part of a Southeast Asia tour that will include Malaysia and Cambodia, with Beijing trying to position itself as a stable alternative to Trump as leaders confront US tariffs.

The Chinese leader called on his country and Vietnam Monday to "oppose unilateral bullying and uphold the stability of the global free trade system", according to Beijing's state media.

Hours later, Trump told reporters at the White House that their talks were aimed at hurting the United States.

"I don't blame China. I don't blame Vietnam. I don't. I see they're meeting today, and that's wonderful," he said.

"That's a lovely meeting... like trying to figure out, how do we screw the United States of America."

China and Vietnam signed 45 cooperation agreements on Monday, including on supply chains, artificial intelligence, joint maritime patrols and railway development.

Xi said at a meeting with Vietnam's top leader To Lam on Monday that their countries were "standing at the turning point of history... and should move forward with joined hands".

Lam said after the talks that the two leaders "reached many important and comprehensive common perceptions", according to Vietnam News Agency.

- Rail links -

Before leaving for Malaysia, Xi laid a red wreath emblazoned with his name and the words "Long live Vietnam's great leader President Ho Chi Minh" at the late leader's mausoleum in central Hanoi.

He also attended the launch of the Vietnam-China Railway Cooperation project, which will help manage an $8-billion rail project -- announced this year -- to link Vietnam's largest northern port city to the border with China.

The rail link is a "matter of great concern" to the leaders of the two countries, Vietnam News Agency said.

The new rail line will run through some of Vietnam's key manufacturing hubs, home to Samsung, Foxconn, Pegatron and other global giants, many of whom rely on a regular flow of components from China.

Xi's trip came almost two weeks after the United States -- the biggest export market for Vietnam in the first three months of the year -- imposed a 46 percent levy on Vietnamese goods as part of a global tariff blitz.

Although the US tariffs on the manufacturing powerhouse and most other countries have been paused, China still faces enormous levies and is seeking to tighten regional trade ties and offset their impact during Xi's first overseas trip of the year.

The Chinese president was travelling onwards to Malaysia before visiting Cambodia on a tour that "bears major importance" for the broader region, Beijing has said.

Xi earlier urged Vietnam and China to "resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment".

He also reiterated Beijing's line that a "trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere" in an article published on Monday in Vietnam's major state-run Nhan Dan newspaper.

China and Vietnam, both ruled by communist parties, already share a "comprehensive strategic partnership", Hanoi's highest diplomatic status.

Vietnam has long pursued a "bamboo diplomacy" approach -- striving to stay on good terms with both China and the United States.

The two countries have close economic ties, but Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijing's increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea.

bur-aph/rsc

Samsung Electronics

PEGATRON