Hanoi, Vietnam - Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday called on his country and Vietnam to "oppose unilateral bullying," Beijing's state media reported, during a regional tour as leaders confront US tariffs.

Xi is in Vietnam for the first leg of a Southeast Asia tour, with Beijing trying to present itself as a reliable alternative to an erratic US President Donald Trump, who announced – and then mostly reversed – sweeping tariffs this month.

He was welcomed to Hanoi on Monday with a 21-cannon salute, a guard of honor, and rows of flag-waving children at the presidential palace, before holding talks with Vietnam's top leaders including General Secretary To Lam.

Xi told Lam their two countries must "jointly oppose unilateral bullying, and uphold the stability of the global free trade system as well as industrial and supply chains," according to the Xinhua news agency.

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The two neighbors signed 45 cooperation agreements, including on supply chains, artificial intelligence, joint maritime patrols, and railway development.

Xi's visit comes almost two weeks after the US – the biggest export market for Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, in the first three months of the year – imposed a 46% levy on Vietnamese goods as part of a global tariff blitz.

Although the US tariffs on Vietnam 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.

Xi will depart Vietnam on Tuesday, traveling to Malaysia and Cambodia on a tour that "bears major importance" for the broader region, Beijing has said.

Speaking during a meeting with Lam, Xi said Vietnam and China were "standing at the turning point of history... and should move forward" together.

Xi earlier urged the two countries 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 Monday in Vietnam's state-run Nhan Dan newspaper.

Lam said in an article posted on the government's news portal Monday that his country "is always ready to join hands with China to make cooperation between the two countries more substantive, profound, balanced and sustainable."