Southeast Asia and Gulf leaders meet with China as governments look to coordinate in the face of Trump tariffs

Leaders from the Middle East and Southeast Asia maintain their second summit in the Malaysian capital in Kuala Labor. The two regional blocs, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) will hold another triple meeting that includes China for the first time, as the world regions begin to hedge their stakes in a geologically expected world.

The wave of meetings, which includes the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, ASEAN and China, are a day after the semi -cultural ASEAN summit.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday at the Asian Summit that he had written to US President Donald Trump, and is seeking to organize a meeting between Trump and Southeast Asia because of their concerns about the customs tariff.

Several economies in Southeast Asia were severely beaten by the “Tahrir Day” tariff, and while these economies have already communicated individually with Washington, Anwar presses a meeting between the United States and ASEAN as a bloc. Malaysia is the ASEAN chair this year.

In addition to communication, Malaysia is also keen to take advantage of its leadership position to build links with the Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc of six Middle East countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China.

“The transition in the geopolitical system is ongoing, and the global trading system is subjected to additional pressure with the latest hypothesis of definitions from one side of the United States,” Anwar said in his opening speech at the ASEAN summit. “Grievousness floats on the appearance and we are witnessing the multiple collapse in the seams.”

The disintegration of the old demand may be to force areas such as the Gulf and ASEAN to force new trading links, whether with each other or with external parties.

“The deteriorating impact of the United States in the global south, along with the polarized American policies in the Middle East, has opened an alternative alternative space from the south and south. fulcrum Before the ASEAN-GCC-CINA summit.

Southeast Asia and the Middle East have many common factors – including young population who have increased income. Both are also keen to climb the value chain and stay away from the traditional models of resources for economic growth and investment in strategic industries.

Both regions have long looked at the United States as an important provider of security and economic growth. But China also appears as an important commercial partner for all the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and ASEAN – which makes both regions to balance their relations with Washington and Beijing.

Asia axis

The Malaysia summit comes shortly after US President Donald Trump visited a high -level visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. During his journey, the three countries promised hundreds of billions of dollars in US investments and the purchase of American -made products.

The White House attributed the ads to the Trump deal ingenuity. However, the sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf have been implemented in the US financial markets for decades, and want to reach American technology.

The host countries also enchanted Trump with gifts like Boeing 747 from Qatar.

But despite the large amounts of money and huge deals, the Gulf Cooperation Council is involved in a quiet axis of Asia – or at least, diversifying its wallet. Developing economies in Southeast Asia need Gulf power; These oil revenues, in turn, can invest by the countries of the Middle East in their own economies.

Tell Lyn luck The axis of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to the east is a “pragmatic step” even if they still maintain strong security relations with the West.

“The axis of the Gulf Cooperation Council states to the east does not revolve around abandoning the United States, but about diversifying its economic partnerships in Asia, especially China, India and ASEAN leading global energy demand and investment growth, so the Gulf states see a strategic value in deepening relations with the region.”

Southeast Asia also needs funding for infrastructure projects, new industries, technical startups and more. GCC has a lot of funding to provide. The General Investment Fund in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia alone includes more than $ 900 billion of management assets.

Trump’s visit in the Gulf “turned east in the center of gravity in the region,” Alana Lee, an analyst at the British Research House in Asia, wrote in a report before the rear president’s journey.

It is not just a search for new markets. The Gulf Cooperation Council wants to build stronger relations outside the United States to avoid relying on any one partner. Lee wrote: “The Gulf states have become innovative in compliance with Washington, Beijing and other Asian capitals.”

Asian

Asean, too, tries to avoid mill near Washington or Beijing. As a bloc, the group of 10 members has long tried to adhere to the incompatibility policy when it comes to geopolitical competitions.

However, many countries in Southeast Asia have benefited from exporting to the United States, especially since the supply chains began to move from China after Trump’s first trade war, Covid-19.

Now, the role of Southeast Asia is exposed as a major node in global supply chains to threaten the Trump administration this day, which threatened sharp tariffs on “China in addition to one” such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. These commercial partners are now trying to negotiate commercial agreements with the United States to ward off these new taxes.

But Southeast Asian countries are also concerned that they may become a land lying on cheap commodities from China, which are no longer able to enter the United States easily.

Some of the ASEAN’s economies are now flirting with the Gulf Cooperation Council as a source of capital and investment. Malaysia and Indonesia, as countries with an Islamic majority, also have religious and cultural relations with the Middle East.

Indonesia won $ 10 billion from the United Arab Emirates in February to obtain a new joint venture for renewed renewal supported by the wealth fund in the new Indonesia.

China

China also participates with both Southeast Asia and the Middle East – and it can be said for similar reasons.

Lynn highlights that the presence of Chinese Prime Minister Lee Qiang in Asean-GCC-SUMMIT in Malaysia is “very important”.

Initially, it refers to the ongoing strategic intention of China to deepen economic and diplomatic participation with the global south, especially with ASEAN and the dignities of the Gulf Cooperation Council states, two major commercial partners in China.

“The gathering together in a triple coordination allows China to enhance its role as a central economic player in Asia and the Middle East,” says Lynn.

The consolidation of its role as a central player in the region also allows the defense of a more multi -polar economic system, and the presence of the Chinese Prime Minister, the nominal official in charge of the economy, enhances that Beijing is ready to work with similar partners in thinking to provide alternative development and commercial partnerships that exceed the traditional Western frameworks.

Regardless of China looking for the Gulf for energy requirements, both Southeast Asia and the Middle East are attractive as markets for consumers for Chinese companies.

The Chinese EVS, which is not sold in the United States, can be seen due to high tariff barriers, in countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and even Cambodia. The brands of Chinese smartphones such as Honor and Transition are dominated by the region’s markets.

Chinese companies are also expanding to the Middle East, hoping to sell EVS, smartphones and other goods for wealthy consumers in the region. Chinese internet companies such as Meituan are also launched in the region.

Fortune and the Malaysia government, led by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry jointly hosts the economic forums of ASEAN-GCC-China and Asean-GCC in Kuala Labor, Malaysia on May 27 and May 28, respectively. Stay tuned for visions of the selection of high forums from heads of state, ministers, senior policy makers, experts and investors.

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

2025-05-27 05:00:00