China is "open for business" while the U.S. wants only to look after its own people – that's the view expressed by a number of economists at the 34th ASEAN Summit, which is underway in Bangkok from June 20 to 23.
ASEAN members – namely, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Brunei, Myanmar and Indonesia – meet twice a year. Thailand is the 2019 chair of the organization.
Some participants say at the summit that the China-U.S. trade war is a direct result of U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" policy.
"What the U.S. is doing is backing out on free trade and the economic policy they have been pursuing since the 1990s," said Dr. Piti Srisangnam, director of the ASEAN Studies Center at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
Dr. Piti Srisangnam speaks to CGTN. /CGTN Photo
"Donald Trump believes this new policy will maintain the profits of the American people who voted for him. That's the reason why he has not thought about the world economic community – and the reason that the trade war is happening," Srisangnam said.
"We can see that China wants to look outside to other countries, while the U.S. is looking inside to its own people," he continued.
China's signature foreign policy is its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which reinvents the ancient Silk Road trade routes connecting Asia, Africa and Europe.
"We need to build an open world economy and reject trade protectionism," Chinese President Xi Jinping recently told world leaders at a forum in Beijing.
"We need to encourage the full participation of more countries, thus expanding the pie of common interest," he said.
Many say China is focusing on trade partnerships while the U.S. pursues protectionism. /CGTN Photo
Economist Paul Gambles, managing director of MBMG Investments in Bangkok, said: "Trump's tariff war has been the best promoter for the Belt and Road."
"Previously there was some suspicion from ASEAN governments, largely around costings and benefits. However the tariff spat has changed this dynamic, especially accompanied with perceived higher levels of U.S. geopolitical aggression and interference," Gambles said.
"In short, the Trump administration has largely succeeded in pushing most if not all ASEAN members closer to China and has made RCEP (the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – a proposed trade pact between ASEAN and six Asia-Pacific nations including China) more significant," Gambles said.
A container port at dusk. /VCG Photo
The Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, Mr. Kriengkrai Thiennukul said: "Mr. Trump is trying to do as he campaigned, 'Make America Great Again' and 'America First' – that was the beginning of the trade war."
"The Chinese Belt and Road project looks better than the U.S. because China is focusing on trading and doing business while the US focuses on policies that are against free trade, a policy the U.S. once tried its best to achieve,” he said.
Trade is top of the agenda at the ASESAN summit
Mr. Thiennukul said Thailand's exports to China fell by eight percent in the first quarter of 2019, as a result of U.S. tariffs seeing China sending fewer products to the United States.
"There will be an effect for all ASEAN countries in the China and U.S. supply chain," he added.
Mr. Srisangnam of the ASEAN Studies Center said Chinese goods not being exported to the U.S., and U.S. goods no longer arriving in China, will become surplus to the global market – and may be diverted to ASEAN countries competing with domestic suppliers.
"This will cause their value to fall," he said.
He added that countries such as China and Japan might switch from investing in the U.S. to other countries, including ASEAN.
"Attacks on China and Chinese products are creating waves of anti-U.S. sentiment throughout Southeast Asia," Gambles added.
"It's even being reflected at brand level. People 'like' Huawei and 'dislike' Apple because of the way the U.S. government behaved lately, especially as ASEAN countries see themselves as being vulnerable."