ASEAN Continues to Emerge as A Winner of U.S.-China Trade Tensions

CNBC | 1 November 2024

ASEAN leaders at the group’s summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 5, 2023.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has continued to emerge as an economic winner of increasing geopolitical tensions between China and the United States, though risks from fragmentation remain, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.

According to the U.N. agency, the region has long benefited from decades of globalization, building strong trade links with China and the United States, the world’s two largest economies. 

Though U.S.-China tensions have been deteriorating in recent years, ASEAN has adapted and continued to integrate with the global economy, the IMF said in its latest Asia-Pacific Outlook report, released Friday.

“Despite geopolitical tensions, ASEAN has continued to strengthen trade and investment links with both China and the U.S.,” the report said. 

Data from the IMF showed that since 2018, ASEAN economies have increased their market share of both Chinese and U.S. imports, with the superpowers absorbing a greater share of the region’s value added.

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