Xi’s Globalist Vision Encounters Suspicion in His Own Backyard
- Visits to Hanoi, Vientiane show ambivalence toward Beijing
- Vietnam has clashed with China over disputed territory
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To understand the challenges Xi Jinping faces in assuming greater leadership in world affairs, look no further than the Chinese president’s travels through his own backyard this week.
Over five days in Vietnam and Laos, Xi played two seemingly disparate roles: defender of global commerce and torchbearer for international communism. While the trip presented China as an alternative to a more inward-looking U.S., it also showed the region’s ambivalence to embrace Beijing’s worldview.