China’s leader Xi Jinping started a week of diplomacy in Southeast Asia with a visit to Vietnam, signaling China’s commitment to global trade.

Xi Jinping has appealed to Vietnam to join China in upholding multilateral 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.

His comments, in an article for Vietnam's Nhan Dan newspaper, come he begins a series of state visits to the country, Malaysia and Cambodia from April 14 to 18.