Amid Trump uncertainty, is this ‘best time’ for China to win friends in Southeast Asia?

Now is the time for Beijing to show ‘geopolitical magnanimity’ on tough issues like the South China Sea, Malaysian global affairs expert says

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Beijing has long-standing territorial disputes with several countries over the South China Sea. Photo: EPA-EFE

Dewey Simin Boao, Hainan

Published: 10:00am, 28 Mar 2025Updated: 10:45am, 28 Mar 2025

Beijing can capitalise on the uncertainty coming from Washington to woo Southeast Asia by showing “geopolitical magnanimity” on tough issues including the South China Sea, a Malaysian international affairs expert says.

Mohd Faiz Abdullah, chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia think tank which advises the Malaysian government, also said that if Southeast Asia was confronted with “corrosive” trade policies from the United States, the region “may have no choice but resort more to China”.

Since his return to the White House, US President Donald Trump has brought significant uncertainty with policies including tariffs, appearing to fracture the rules-based global system. China has meanwhile sought to present itself as a stabilising force and responsible major power.

According to Mohd Faiz, the Trump administration has been “resiling from multipolarity” – and that made it the “best time” for Beijing to deepen ties with countries in its backyard.

“If you ask me, this is the time when China must really up its game and exercise more restraint and have greater consideration in relation to geopolitical matters – for example in matters pertaining to the South China Sea,” he said in an interview on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia in China’s Hainan province.

“China must be seen to be much more accommodating to Asean states and it must, in fact, go beyond geoeconomic strategies,” he said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “That would really win friends who may be sitting on the fence.”