Asean and China should join hands amid trade storms

IN general, Asia enjoys a large trade surplus with the United States, and this makes the former a main target of Donald Trump’s global trade war. Data from the US Census Bureau show that in 2024, five of the top 10 trading partners with the largest trade deficit with the US are Asian economies – China, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea and India.

Economies of the Association for South-East Asian Nations (Asean) are particularly vulnerable. Among Asean’s 10 member states, five have a trade surplus worth more than US$10bil with America – Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia. Exports to the US contribute 3% to Vietnam’s GDP, 25% to Cambodia’s, and around 2% to Indonesia’s.