Why Asean must stay nimble to survive US-China trade squeeze
The US and China are the top two trading partners for Asean but it is questionable how long that status quo will last, observers say
Zafrul, who was Malaysia’s trade and investment minister at the time, recalled how Asean economic ministers discussed how they would respond and agreed they would state they were not in support of the unilateral decision, that they would support multilateralism and that they would engage the US.
“That shows that sometimes it is difficult … but still, we address by engaging,” he said, adding that the success of Asean as a result of the economic spillover of the bloc being united should also not be taken for granted.
In a separate panel, Bernardino Moningka Vega, vice-chairman of foreign affairs at the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia), said that amid a turbulent geopolitical landscape last year, the US remained Asean’s top investor while China came in second.
“Asean remains a bright spot among all the other regions in growth. Its cumulative growth is 5 per cent. So when you say, is Asean relevant, the investment statistics say yes, it’s still relevant. The superpowers are still investing in Asean,” said Bernardino, who is also chief executive of financial institution AdaKami.