Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told Malaysia’s leader that China will be a collaborative partner and stand with its Southeast Asian neighbors in the wake of global economic shocks.

China’s President Xi Jinping has arrived in Cambodia on the last leg of his three-country tour of Southeast Asia, which has seen him double down on earlier calls to oppose hegemonism and resist protectionism in the face of rising trade frictions with the US.

President Trump when speaking with reporters in the Oval Office Thursday said that officials believed to representing President Xi Jinping 'have reached out a number of times.'

President Trump said he is in contact with the “highest levels” of the Chinese government about a potential deal to reduce tariffs, appearing to confirm that he is talking to Chinese President Xi Jinping himself.