Leaders from Southeast Asia have met the Chinese and Gulf leadership to bolster ties after Donald Trump shook up the global markets with his trade tariffs affecting even the South Asian markets. Although he paused it for an additional 90 days for most, the experience has spurred the ASEAN members to accelerate efforts to diversify their trading options and explore new horizons.
"A transition in the geopolitical order is underway," Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in written remarks on Monday. After hosting a lavish dinner the night before, Tuesday witnessed the inaugural meeting between ASEAN, China, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional bloc made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
ASEAN has offered to be a middle ground between the developed nations, such as the United States and China, said Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore (NUS). "Given the uncertainty and unpredictability associated with economic relations with the United States, ASEAN member states are looking to diversify," he said.
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"Facilitating exchanges between the Gulf and the People's Republic of China is one aspect of this diversification." Malaysia, which holds ASEAN's rotating chairmanship and opened the bloc's 46th summit on Monday, is the main force behind the initiative, he said.
After opening the ASEAN-GCC meeting today, China will join the talks later in the day, Anwar said, adding that the two blocs had "the means and responsibility to rise as anchors of stability and engines for future growth."
Chinese Premier Li's participation is "both timely and calculated," Khoo Ying Hooi from the University of Malaya told reporters. "China sees an opportunity here to reinforce its image as a reliable economic partner, especially in the face of Western decoupling efforts."
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