Trump and his CEOs want China’s business – but has Asia moved on?
The US delegation went to Beijing looking for deals, but a ‘super cycle’ of capital expenditures across Asia is already fuelling enormous growth
US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the US-Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the latest instalment of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we explore the massive upswing in capital expenditures across Asia that is driving a broad shift in economic power.
But while the 17 executives joined Trump in search of further opportunity in Asia’s largest market, any capital they would contribute for a deal would end up recirculating around China and the continent at large, inadvertently providing more fuel for a massive reorientation of economic activity already in progress.
From advanced computer hardware to renewable energy, companies around East Asia are reacting to fallout from US-involved trade disputes, conflict in the Middle East and a world AI race by raising capital expenditures in a range of relevant industries to the highest levels in 20 years – and more on the way.