ASEAN Launches Historic Summit with China And Gulf States Amid Rising US Trade Tensions

Southeast Asian nations have opened a landmark summit with China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), marking the first-ever trilateral talks between the three blocs as they seek to bolster economic resilience amid growing global trade uncertainties and rising US protectionism, according to Al-Jazeera.

Hosted in Kuala Lumpur as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) annual summit, the meeting comes at a time of mounting geopolitical tensions and economic headwinds, including recent U.S. tariff hikes that threaten to disrupt global trade flows. The 10-member ASEAN bloc includes Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Malaysia, which currently chairs ASEAN, is playing host to the gathering. The summit follows bilateral meetings between ASEAN leaders and members of the GCC—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—before culminating in the trilateral summit with China on Tuesday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in his opening remarks at the ASEAN-GCC summit, emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation between the two regional groupings. “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,” Anwar said, according to Al-Jazeera.

He also warned of the shifting global order, referencing the escalating trade tensions driven by U.S. tariffs. “The global trading system is under further strain, with the recent imposition of US unilateral tariffs,” he noted in pre-summit comments. He added that multilateralism is "breaking apart at the seams" amid a surge in protectionism.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, is joining the summit in a show of Beijing’s commitment to expanding trade and investment ties with both ASEAN and the GCC. In talks with Prime Minister Anwar ahead of the summit, Li stressed the need for greater economic integration.

“At a time when unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise and world economic growth is sluggish,” Li said, China, ASEAN, and GCC countries “should strengthen coordination and cooperation and jointly uphold open regionalism and true multilateralism.”

The unprecedented three-way summit highlights a strategic pivot by Southeast Asian economies toward alternative trade partners and stronger South-South cooperation, as they brace for fallout from rising tensions between the US and its economic rivals.