ASEAN opens summit with Gulf nations, China amid U.S. tariffs risk

Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah delivers a keynote speech through the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit on the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 27, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A regional affiliation of Southeast Asian nations is about to carry a three-way summit Tuesday (May 27, 2025) with China and 6 Gulf nations in what officers referred to as an effort to bolster financial resilience as they grapple with world volatility and U.S. tariffs.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, opening a summit in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council, stated a stronger ASEAN-GCC relationship could be key to enhancing interregional collaboration, constructing resilience, and securing sustainable prosperity.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will be a part of the 2 blocs of their first such assembly later Tuesday (May 27, 2025), as Beijing seeks to current itself as a dependable ally to the area.

“I believe the ASEAN-GCC partnership has never been more important than it is today, as we navigate an increasingly complex global landscape marked by economic uncertainty and geopolitical challenges,” Mr. Ibrahim stated.

Malaysia is the present chair of ASEAN, which additionally consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah stated the 2 blocs, which held their first summit in Riyadh in 2023, would construct on their momentum to deepen cooperation and “improve our ability to face crisis.” He stated the GCC is ASEAN’s seventh largest commerce accomplice, with complete commerce reaching $130.7 billion in 2023.

The GCC contains the oil-producing nations of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Anwar stated final week the GCC already has sturdy hyperlinks with the U.S. and “wants to be close to China too”.

ASEAN has maintained a coverage of neutrality, partaking each Beijing and the United States, however U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of sweeping tariffs got here as a blow. Six of the bloc’s members had been among the many worst hit, with tariffs between 32% and 49%.

Mr. Trump introduced a 90-day pause on tariffs in April for a lot of the world, and this month struck an analogous take care of key rival China, easing commerce struggle tensions. Anwar is looking for an ASEAN summit with Mr. Trump on the tariffs.

Collins Chong Yew Keat, a overseas affairs, technique and safety analyst with Universiti Malaya, stated ASEAN is seen as tilting in direction of China and has did not take sturdy motion in opposition to Beijing’s aggression within the disputed South China Sea. ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims with China, which asserts sovereignty over nearly your complete South China Sea.

While counting on U.S. defence assist, ASEAN is growing reliance and partnership with China and different U.S. rivals, Mr. Chong stated.

“If this continues under the current Trump administration, it will create further room for Washington to distance itself from the region, which will spell disaster and create an even deeper Chinese presence,” he stated.