Various countries in the region are under pressure to support Washington or Beijing as their tariff dispute bleeds into bigger issues. But wariness of putting one offside means most will try to wait for the two giants to work through their differences.
Read Here – South China Morning Post
Today, as policy makers and commentators confidently assert that trade wars are easy to win or that hot wars with China are either impossible or inevitable, the experience of being proved wrong again and again should remind us that events will, more than likely, not turn out as predicted.
Asia’s low-cost manufacturing hubs will continue benefiting as firms seek to move their production or supply chains out of China amid rising business costs, despite the likely continuation of a region-wide decline in exports. But for Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea – once known as the “Asian Tigers” for their high-growth economies – the outlook is gloomy as shipping volumes are expected to fall and uncertainty leaves companies’ plans for growth in limbo.
Read Here – South China Morning Post
Also Read: US-China Trade War: Here Are Beijing’s Options – And Not One Looks Any Good
Much of the narrative on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been polarised…Neither of these polarised narratives seems to fully account for the complex and heterogeneous variety of activities in the BRI.
For the past seven decades, the world has been moulded by a strong, transatlantic relationship with the US and EU underwriting the terms of peace, stability and economic prosperity. The success of this order has created its own existential challenge. Its rising beneficiaries in Asia and elsewhere increasingly challenge the validity of these arrangements and the efficacy of rules that have managed global affairs
Does Trump indeed mark the end of an era? Or will he prove a transitory figure who created a mere interregnum in America’s quest for primacy after the Cold War? In speaking about America’s purpose, Trump himself has repeatedly made it clear that he seeks to overturn what he regards as the benighted policies of the past. In contrast to his predecessors, Trump has repeatedly disparaged the notion that America is uniquely virtuous.
A stable world order is a rare thing. When one does arise, it tends to come after a great convulsion that creates both the conditions and the desire for something new. It requires a stable distribution of power and broad acceptance of the rules that govern the conduct of international relations. It also needs skillful statecraft, since an order is made, not born.
The Pentagon has said China is using its expanding military, trading and infrastructure network to pursue global leadership in a report that warned that its global ambitions could undermine the security of the United States and its allies and threatened international economic corridors. Monday’s report assessed China’s military and non-military expansion efforts, such as the “Belt and Road Initiative” and the “Made in China 2025” industrial strategy, and their implications for America around the world.
Read Here – South China Morning Post
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Facing escalating geopolitical competition with the US, China is scrambling to win friends in East Asia. But while China’s neighbours will undoubtedly welcome any respite from Chinese belligerence, they will not be fooled by sweet talk – or even sweet trade deals.
Regardless of the outcome of the elections, interested observers in Asia should anticipate four distinct shifts in U.S. foreign policy in the near term: Washington will be increasingly focused on China, Congress will likely support initiatives in the Indo-Pacific with greater resources, Trump may be less constrained in his use of presidential power, and surprisingly, the American people may actually be increasing their commitment to a rules-based order.
