Malaysia’s decision to invite representatives from China and Arab Gulf states to the ASEAN summit in May has made headlines beyond the Southeast Asian nation that currently holds the chairmanship of the 10-member trade bloc.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has insisted though, that the presence of non-members at the summit is not intended as a move against the United States, nor does it signal that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is “choosing sides.” Rather, he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, it was about “ensuring ASEAN’s strategic relevance in a multipolar world.”
However, Anwar’s plan for a trade alliance between ASEAN, China, and the resource-rich, investment-driven Gulf states may not sit well with Washington, says Sam Baron, a researcher at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies in Japan.
“ASEAN nations, several Gulf states, and China all run significant trade surpluses with the US,” Baron told the South China Morning Post. “Trump isn’t afraid to use trade policy as a sledgehammer. Anwar needs to be cautious.”
Natural trading partners?
The combined gross domestic product (GDP) of the Arab Gulf states, comprising the so-called Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), stood at around $2.1 trillion (€1.96 trillion) in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) account for nearly three-quarters of the economic output of the bloc, which also includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qata.
