China sees chance to boost ties with ASEAN, Gulf nationsーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
ASEAN members have held their first trilateral meeting with China and countries from the Persian Gulf. The delegates reportedly agreed to strengthen economic ties and promote trade and investment amid growing uncertainty from US trade policies. ASEAN chair Malaysia hosted the meeting on Tuesday. The attendees included the leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The topics included regional economic integration, the impact of US tariff measures and energy security. Chinese Premier League Chang called for greater cooperation. We must unswervingly expand regional openness and strive to develop all three sides into a large shared market where resources, technology, and talent flow more efficiently. Diplomatic sources say some delegates stressed the importance of advancing multilateralism and regional unity to tackle common challenges. Malaysian Prime Minister Anoir Ibrahim said that together the nations can lay the foundation for stable, resilient, and sustainable growth. China’s push to reach out to those groups of countries has a lot to do with the United States. That’s according to an expert on international relations and East Asian security based in Singapore. He tells NHK World’s Kikuyama that Beijing offers a contrast to Washington’s everchanging tariff measures and uncertain foreign policies. While the United States is looking at the great powers, China could actually look at the global south uh and then the uh the United China is actually trying to uh the uh um take the advantage of the what the United States is doing now. Ka says and GCC countries don’t want to choose between the US and China, but tariffs hurt and they have to think about their own economic interests. China also has been mired in a variety of trade disputes. But Koga says right now the perception is Beijing can offer them more stability compared to the US. It’s more like they uh in short-term kind of temporary adjustment of their policies and then try to uh they talk to the China how to uh deal with the current uh situation uh rather than the uh kind of fundamental shift of their uh strategic posture toward the great powers. But that’s growing economic ties also mean growing security ties. There are many steps that they need to actually take and then there are many uh countries involved in the uh this uh the uh framework so that their I think like security uh their agenda is going to be more complex so that they are I think their uh their economic uh sec economic cooperation does not necessarily lead to their uh security cooperation anytime soon. Koga says China’s push also does not necessarily mean the country is trying to challenge the existing international order. I think they they are trying to do this like in the particular uh region and then over time uh the they would actually expand its influence but so in that sense the uh I don’t actually see that the China is taking over or the uh the United States or China is going to be the uh much uh stronger than the United States. As for Japan, Koga says it has an opportunity to raise its diplomatic profile in the region. This is a really uncertain world uh and that the Japan need and also Japan’s kind of uh the resources limited in many ways. So maybe the uh Japan should actually also have the uh priority uh the uh to engage with the particular countries though with many different players involved. Koga says Japan should prioritize strengthening bilateral ties. Hikuyama and HK work.
China sent its premier to meet with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday. NHK World’s Kikuyama Kengo spoke with one expert who says Beijing’s push to boost ties with the groups of countries has to do with Washington.
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