Xi Jinping is in Southeast Asia to build bonds with countries that also face U.S. tariffs and have come under pressure from Washington to curb the transshipment of Chinese goods.

During Trump's first term, tariffs on China were a big win for Vietnam, especially in cities like Haiphong. Now the country's future isn't so clear.

When Le Ngoc Tham became sales manager for a new industrial estate in northern Vietnam, the goal was to turn it into an easy alternative for manufacturers leaving China to avoid the tariffs of the first US-Sino trade war.