China has signaled that an inaugural summit with Southeast Asian and Arab Gulf states held this week could lay the groundwork for new economic and strategic cooperation models that give the Global South a bigger say in global affairs, as Beijing seeks to capitalize on growing international concern over unilateral U.S. tariffs.
Speaking at the talks in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said the launch of the new forum that groups China, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) marked “a major innovation in regional economic cooperation” amid “complex changes in the international landscape” — a message seen as an implicit swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade moves.
Li urged the partners to “seize this historic opportunity” to build a model of global cooperation and development by, among other things, deepening strategic alignment, expanding industrial collaboration, stepping up three-way people exchanges and further opening up regional markets.
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