Asia watches summit with ‘anxiety, caution and fatigue’published at 04:21 BST
04:21 BST
Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent
Asia’s export-led economies will be watching the Trump-Xi meetings with what Reema Bhattacharya of Verisk Maplecroft calls a mix of “anxiety, caution and fatigue”.
Most economies in the region are part of key US-China supply chains, so any shift in relations feeds directly into trade, investment and manufacturing decisions. A renewed escalation could ripple across global markets.
At the same time, any agreement for lower US tariffs on Chinese goods, for example, could increase competition for countries like Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, which have benefited from supply chain shifts away from China in recent years.
China’s export controls on rare earths have already hit automakers and electronics producers across the region in Japan, South Korea and India.
Energy is another pressure point, with South East Asia heavily reliant on oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and vulnerable to price swings.
For many governments, especially in South East Asia, the challenge is balancing ties with both Washington and Beijing as trading partners.
Expectations for major breakthroughs are low. The most likely outcome is a limited stabilisation in relations.
The key concern for businesses and economies across the region is continued uncertainty.