ASEAN’s ‘hybrid approach’ most realistic response to face Trump tariffs, say experts

By:
On:
In: Asia

However, Lin claimed that ASEAN nations would need to expand their export markets if negotiations with the US don’t lead to meaningful price reductions. &nbsp,

She noted that many are already doing this, with China still serving as a crucial companion, particularly for nations like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, which have a limited US business exposure. &nbsp,

But, whether these nations ‘ imports are in line with Chinese need depends on their ability to become more economically aligned with China. &nbsp,

The EU, India, the Gulf States, and deeper intra-ASEAN industry, in Lin’s opinion, are essential choices. &nbsp,

She said that it will be crucial to improve the regional comprehensive economic partnership’s (RCEP ) implementation and exploring new free trade agreements to reduce risk of unilateral protectionist actions. &nbsp,

China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand are all parties to the RCEP, which is a free trade agreement. &nbsp,

But, political expert Oh Ei Sun claimed that ASEAN will have to look for different markets to deal with because the US will continue to be one of the biggest exporters of East Asian products, including semiconductors and solar products.

” ASEAN is currently conducting business with numerous different nations. These nations just doesn’t fit the high level of American consumption, Oh said. &nbsp,

Lin argued that ASEAN may continue to invest in regional economic integration, strengthening domestic supply chains, harmonising regulations, and enhancing its desirability as a diverse and resilient manufacturing base in order to lessen the impact of US tariffs. &nbsp,

She claimed that while a WTO issue is theoretically possible, it is also less useful in the long run due to the length of the WTO’s dispute resolution process. &nbsp,

Specific member states have the right to complain about other members, but ASEAN as an organization does not have the legal position to do so. &nbsp,

Lin argued that ASEAN should instead concentrate on developing strategic partnerships, improving business facilitation, and using tools like the Washington, DC, ASEAN Committee to communicate to US policymakers in a planned manner.

The key would of course be to maintain coherence, agility, and forward-thinking in such a tumultuous business culture, she said. &nbsp,

Ferlito claimed that the most advantageous course of action right now is to actively pursue true free trade agreements with all interested parties. He explained that these contracts enable tariff-free deal between the participating countries.

That is the best course of action if we want to grow, to listen, and to make more growth opportunities, which come from bigger marketplaces, and this comes from free business.

” The earth is integrated, and seeking self-reliance is utopic and not the best course of action. Economic development is achieved by looking outside rather than inside. Therefore, having solid economics means being integrated rather than isolated,” he said. &nbsp,

However, analysts cautioned that if the US and China’s continued price war turns into a full-fledged trade war, it could have significant effects on the ASEAN region.

Because a majority of ASEAN states rely on Chinese industry and Taiwanese money, that is a much more dangerous problem. ASEAN had undoubtedly suffer as collateral damage if the US-China relationships collapse,” Chin predicted. &nbsp,
 

Amir Yusof provided extra monitoring.

Continue Reading

With Trump’s unpredictability, ASEAN’s no-retaliation response to US tariffs is its only ‘realistic’ option

By:
On:
In: Asia

However, Lin claimed that ASEAN nations would need to diversify their export markets if US-US negotiations fail to yield substantial tariff reductions. &nbsp,

She noted that many are already doing this, with China still serving as a crucial companion, particularly for nations like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, which have a limited US business contact. &nbsp,

However, a closer economic partnership with China depends on how well these nations ‘ exports match Chinese need. &nbsp,

The EU, India, the Gulf States, and deeper intra-ASEAN industry, in Lin’s opinion, are essential choices. &nbsp,

She said that it will be crucial to improve the regional comprehensive economic partnership’s (RCEP ) implementation and exploring new free trade agreements to reduce risk of unilateral protectionist actions. &nbsp,

China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand are all parties to the RCEP, which is a free trade agreement. &nbsp,

But, political expert Oh Ei Sun claimed that ASEAN will have to look for different markets to deal with because the US will continue to be one of the biggest exporters of South Asian products, including semiconductors and solar products.

” ASEAN is currently conducting business with a large number of various nations. These nations just didn’t fit the high level of American consumption, Oh said. &nbsp,

Lin argued that ASEAN may continue to invest in regional economic integration, strengthening domestic supply chains, harmonising regulations, and enhancing its desirability as a diverse and resilient manufacturing base in order to lessen the impact of US tariffs. &nbsp,

She claimed that while a WTO issue is theoretically possible, it is not a viable option in the long run due to the current status of the WTO’s dispute resolution process and the drawn-out character of such proceedings. &nbsp,

While ASEAN as an organization does not have the legal authority to lodge a complaint with the WTO, personal member states have the authority to lodge complaints against other users. &nbsp,

Lin argued that ASEAN should rather concentrate on developing strategic alliances, improving business cooperation, and using programs like the ASEAN Committee in Washington DC to communicate organized ideas to US politicians.

In such a tumultuous business atmosphere,” she said, the challenge will be to keep cognizant, lean, and forward-looking.” &nbsp,

Ferlito claimed that working with all interested parties is the most advantageous course of action right then. He argued that these agreements facilitate tariff-free deal between the participating countries.

That is the best course of action if we want to grow, to listen, and to make more growth opportunities, which come from bigger marketplaces, and this comes from free business.

” The universe is integrated, and seeking self-reliance is utopic and not the best course of action. Economic development is achieved by looking outside rather than inwards. Therefore, he said, having solid economics requires being integrated rather than isolated. &nbsp,

However, analysts cautioned that if the US and China’s continued tariff war turns into a full-fledged trade war, serious consequences might result for the ASEAN region.

Because a majority of ASEAN states rely on Chinese industry and Taiwanese money, that is a much more dangerous problem. ASEAN had undoubtedly suffer as credit damage if the US-China relationships collapse,” Chin predicted. &nbsp,
 

Amir Yusof provided more monitoring.

Continue Reading

Jewel Changi Airport to have a Shonen Jump pop-up store featuring Dragonball, One Piece, Demon Slayer and more

By:
On:
In: South-East Asia

The pop-up keep, as its name suggests, will carry items from numerous Shonen Jump names. Viewers can anticipate items from Hunter X Hunter, &nbsp, Haikyu, My Hero Academia, and more, in addition to the ones already mentioned.

Limited-edition T-shirts, tote bags, and other specific novelty items will be the exclusive products that will be sold at the pop-up business.

Director of Japanese amusement company Remow, Akira Ishii, stated in a declaration:” We are certainly delighted to take the Pop Up! At a time when the demand for Japanese manga and anime is growing, Jump Characters Store is located near Jewel Changi Airport, a significant social gateway in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

We are pleased to give devoted fans of this area a chance to first experience and purchase official Shonen Jump merchandise because our goal is to bring Asian entertainment to the world.

Information of the goods being sold at Pop Away! After details will be made available via the official site of the Jump Characters Store.

Pop Away! The Jewel Changi Airport will be the location of the Jump Characters Store, which will be located at# 04-235 / 236, and will be open May 10 through August 31, 2025. Working hours are daily from 10am to 10pm.

Continue Reading

Commentary: ASEAN isn’t retaliating on US tariffs. That doesn’t mean it’s not responding

By:
On:
In: Asia

PRAGMATISM ATTENDS REVENUES

Tellingly, some people worry that ASEAN could turn into a “arena of significant power competitors” and that its members might turn into “major energy proxies.” The mutual tariffs started as a trade conflict between the US and China, but they quickly spread to other countries that merely adhered to the” business imbalance” narrative, particularly emerging markets like ASEAN.

Analysts have predicted recession risks to be higher than 60 % as a result of the very aggressive tariffs, which are a common baseline of 10 % for all, including trade surplus nations like Singapore, and additional costs that are a little disproportional to the trade imbalances. Some economists anticipate adding prices, poverty, and inequality to their forecasts.

Unsurprisingly, the bilateral tariffs will probably cause Southeast Asia to distrust US citizens, opening up space for other significant powers to replace them. Prior to Liberation Day, 46.5 percent of the ISEAS survey respondents identified “new US leadership” ( i .e., Mr. Trump ) as their top geopolitical concern, up from 18.8 percent in 2024, which cited the” 2024 US presidential elections” as a source of concern.

Southeast Asians have shifted their views on proper positioning and trust in them regarding global free trade over the past two years between the US and China.

Most Southeast Asians voted with China in 2024, but the US replaced them this year ( 52.3 percent vs. China’s 47 % ) in the poll. In 2024, Southeast Asians had the highest level of confidence in the US’s commitment to the global free trade agenda, but this dropped to China in 2025 ( 20.6 % versus US’ 19 % ).

This demonstrates that Southeast Asia has become more flexible in terms of which big authority it prefers, motivated more by expediency than fidelity.

Ironically, just three ASEAN nations had a culture in which the US was viewed negatively. These three nations also have the highest perceived commitment to ASEAN, which could help to create a compromise there.

Continue Reading

Time for Australia to think the unthinkable about America – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

how the world changes. The older economic and geopolitical attempt has been altered in Donald Trump’s less than three weeks since he entered the White House.

The United States is no longer seen as the foundation of a rules-based international order ( RBIO ). Instead, it is perceived as its main adversary. Despite China’s potential being the primary goal of Trump’s taxes, strangely enough, it is the Person’s Republic that has seized the opportunity to position itself as the doubtful champion of globalization.

These are particularly head-spinning times for less potent, trade-dependent says like Australia. They are unsure of how Trump’s changing tariffs will develop next. The whole rationale of Australia’s strategic placement is being questioned, and not just that Australia’s financial future is in the balance.

It is long overdue to reconsider Australia’s unquestionable respect to the US. However, Canberra’s corporate elites are reluctant to consider the unthinkable because they are unable to take into account a world where the US is not a dominant and trustworthy force in both economic and strategic affairs.

The notion that the US was the only credible pillar of stability was always a myth, though it was comforting for generations of American politicians who were hesitant to embrace the concept of intellectual independence or true nationwide sovereignty.

In fact, the US has a terrible habit of starting unwanted wars and undermining the RBIO. The Trump presidency is quickly resigning or defunding culture and support organizations it doesn’t want to be a part of because the US has always been a representative of important international bodies like the International Criminal Court.

When he declared that foreign frontrunners had “kiss his ass,” Donald Trump helped to dispel any lingering doubts with his usual political awareness if politicians outside the US were still in doubt about his attitude toward other nations, whether they were alleged allies or speculative foes.

However, it is not just that Trump is an economical ignorant surrounded by obsequious flunkies and chancers that makes his administration but risky and destructive.

The Trump administration’s policies may have serious effects on the rest of the world, as the manipulations in the world’s stock and bond markets demonstrate, which is contrary to the sheer weight of the British market.

There is very little possibility that Trump may be concerned about the harm he inflicts on Southeast Asian markets that are extremely exposed to trade, unless, of course, it has an impact on the US.

An exceedingly probable recession will have an impact on everyone in the long run, but Trump is obviously not a long-seeker, aside from his own durability and the possibility of a second presidential term.

American policymakers don’t ease themselves by anticipating that things will return to normal, even though this is an unlikely possibility, not least because of Trump’s era. As America flirts with totalitarianism and the renowned political guardrails are gradually being destroyed, it’s not even clear if there will ever be another election at this point.

The US is no more a trustworthy companion, and Australia’s financial and strategic future will depend on how closely it ties to the region. If there is one thing that should be made clear, it is that.

Strategic and economic elites have had to work together to form lasting, fruitful relationships with their fast, middle-class neighbors. In the face of a shared risk to the established get, from which both nations have profited, it is even more improbable to think Australia accepting China’s present of” joining hands.”

Quite naturally, Defense Minister Richard Marles rejected the idea right away. One of the president’s most fervent supporters of the AUKUS submarine job in particular and the alliance in general is Marcelles.

Despite this, China is attempting to maintain the outdated economic order while the US is overturning it. Maybe policy thinking should be likewise novel in such unprecedented circumstances.

It’s not necessary to think about forming a strategic partnership with China in order to send important signals to both the PRC and the US regarding Australia’s willingness to follow the kind of’transactional’ strategy that Trump favors.

This is especially true when some critics are concerned about the knowledge sharing that Trump’s policies involve and the impact his policies are having on long-standing and long-suffering supporters like Australia. They actually needn’t care at this point.

American policymakers can’t possibly imagine anything else the Trump administration does to the region, which has fought alongside the US in all of its pointless conflicts of option.

However, it is entirely possible that the Trump administration may leave the Indo-Pacific place if it is determined that it is in America’s “national interest” to do so.

Even if the US maintains a proper hold, it will probably anticipate extremely exigent contributions from the allies who make up America’s growing memorial system. Which raises the question of whether the Taiwanese translation could be any worse.

The Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney, employs alternative doctor Mark Beeson.

Continue Reading

American charged with royal insult granted bail

By:
On:
In: South-East Asia

Lecturer at Paul Chambers of the University is awaiting a decision regarding a revoked card.

PUBLISHED: 10 Apr 2025 at 11: 52

American academic Paul Chambers faces a deadline of 4pm Friday to have his visa revocation stayed or overturned. The Immigration Bureau ordered the revocation after he was charged on Tuesday with lese-majeste. (Photo: Thai Lawyers for Human Rights)
British academic Paul Chambers has until Friday at 4 p.m. to have his visa’s suspension suspended or overturned. Following his arrest on Tuesday on suspicion of lese-majeste, the Immigration Bureau ordered the withdrawal. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights ( Photo )

British intellectual Paul Chambers has been granted bail while he is awaiting trial on a case involving imperial defamation, but he still faces the threat of losing his Thailandese visa to stay there.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights stated in a blog on X on Thursday that the Court of Appeal Region Six approved Mr. Chambers ‘ transfer late on Wednesday on a security of 300, 000 baht.

The legal-aid organization claims that Mr. Chambers has until Friday at 4pm to reverse the order after the Immigration Bureau revoked his visa after being charged this year.

One of the loan parameters is that if he succeeds in obtaining a be force to fight the situation, he may report to Thai regulators every 30 days. &nbsp,

Human Rights Watch had requested Mr. Chambers ‘ immediate release, citing the fact that his “baseless trial poses a serious threat to Thai intellectual freedom and free speech.”

The 58-year-old scientific, who has lived in Thailand since 1993, was likewise “alarmed” by the arrest and detention, according to the US State Department.

Prior to this, police obtained a warrant to search Mr. Chambers ‘ Phitsanulok residence, where he lectures and serves as a special advisor on foreign affairs.

After Mr. Chambers reported to the local authorities to answer a charge brought by him under Part 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law, the Phitsanulok Provincial Court on Tuesday denied his first request for parole.

The Third Army Region filed a grievance against Mr. Chambers. He is also accused of breaking the Computer Crime Act, in addition to lese-majeste. The two fees usually combine.

Lese-majeste is guilty of three to fifteen years in prison.

According to the attorneys, the problem was brought on by information that was published on a university webpage to market a conference that Mr. Chambers gave about the yearly Thai military and police reshuffles in October 2024. &nbsp,

The original commercial paragraph, which has since been edited online, apparently contained content that was deemed objectionable to the monarchy. Mr. Chambers claimed that he did not edit the original version.

Mr. Chambers, who holds a PhD in social science from Northern Illinois University, is well-known in scientific circles as a critic on politics and civil-military relationships in Asia, with a particular emphasis on Thailand.

His publications include Praetorian Kingdom: A History of Military Ascension in Thailand and Khaki Capital: The Political Economy of the Military in Southeast Asia.

Continue Reading

China Power: ‘Like a tsunami’ – Beijing’s economic rise in Southeast Asia leaves locals fearing they’re being crowded out

By:
On:
In: Asia

Locals were originally pleased that Chinese companies were operating, she said, because they had previously imported and discounted common goods like shoes and accessories.

However, the local area grew concerned about the “massive” effect on both large and small businesses over time.

It is challenging to engage with them. Also Indonesian and other states are starting to slowly start to disappear gradually, one by one.

Before they had a strong competitor right next door, Gulo revealed that she and her husband had make tens of thousands of dollars per month.

Since then, their income has decreased by 50 %. &nbsp,

The grocery store’s director, Toni Khuan, explained to CNA why the things were inexpensive. &nbsp,

” China is where our goods are.” The visitors don’t thrive because of the high prices, said Khuan, an Indonesian who relocated from West Kalimantan to operate in Dili. &nbsp, &nbsp,

Wang Jia Sheng, a Chinese businessman, claims that the Chinese government grants incentives like tax deductions and hire grants to businesses operating internationally, which made it possible for her to open a steak restaurant in Dili about a year ago. After hearing about undiscovered business opportunities that from a friend, she made the decision to pursue her riches in Timor-Leste. &nbsp,

Yet though Timor-Leste isn’t as current as China, Wang is happy to call it home. Competition is fierce there. &nbsp,

Timor-Leste is a stunning nation. I enjoy the land, Wang, who is vice president of Timor-Leste’s 300-member Association of Chinese Youth Entrepreneurs, said. &nbsp,

She laughed and said,” I think the locals love my food ( her burgers ).” &nbsp,

When CNA met him soon last year, Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao admitted that the country’s rise of Chinese traders was worrying.

” It is a trouble,” The issue is that we must work harder to improve the culture of ( doing ) business, Gusmao said the day after meeting with the vice-chairperson of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference at his Dili office.

” Because the issue is, moreover, we are importing all,” she said. And we need to alter this in the financial sector. He said,” We must start producing.” &nbsp,

Gusmao claimed that the government is considering opening a development banks to assist micro and small businesses so that its citizens may work in manufacturing without being dependent on imports. &nbsp,

Continue Reading

Malaysia says to host China’s Xi from April 15

By:
On:
In: Asia

Malaysia’s government announced on Wednesday ( Apr 9 ) that it will pay Chinese President Xi Jinping a three-day visit next week as the two nations wrestle with tariffs imposed by the US. Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced that the condition explore will take place from April 15 to AprilContinue Reading

Neither US nor China ready for once-in-a-lifetime trade war – Asia Times

By:
On:
In: Asia

Donald Trump’s trade war with China is producing one of the most tantalizing split screens in the history of global economics.

On one, the US president is going full bore against China and threatening a 104% tariff. This includes Vice President JD Vance dismissing the 1.4 billion-plus people generating the gross domestic product of Asia’s biggest economy as “Chinese peasants.”

On the other is Trump’s apparent willingness to talk to Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and other nations cowering in fear over reciprocal tariffs.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba rushed key economic ministers, including Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato, to Washington to try to talk Trump out of tariffs sure to deal a huge blow to Japan’s export-heavy economy. 

As US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News, “Japan is a very important military ally. They’re a very important economic ally, and the US has a lot of history with them. So I would expect that Japan is going to get priority just because they came forward very quickly.”

South Korea is doing the same. On Tuesday, Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo said he and Trump had a “great call” about tariffs — Trump slapped a 25% tax on Seoul — and potential deals in energy and shipbuilding.

“We have the confines and probability of a great deal for both countries,” Han says. On social media, Trump said, “things are looking good.”

Trouble is, these two split-screen dramas will collide in short order as the “Tariff Man” attempts to knock China, the center of Asian trade, off its economic axis.

At least one thing seems certain: the odds of a giant US-China “grand bargain” trade deal are falling even faster than Trump’s approval rating.

Trump threatening to add another 50% to China’s already crushing 54% tariff level is the last thing Asia needs.

So far, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is pushing back against the Trumpian onslaught. Along with responding in kind to Trump adding a 34% tariff to the earlier 20% — imposing a 34% tax on US goods — Xi is signaling there will be no backing down.

Xi’s China is calling Trump’s bluff in ways Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Green clearly didn’t expect. And upping the odds that a clash of the titans in Washington and Beijing might lay waste to the global financial system.

Here, the US should be careful about what it wishes for. Neither nation is as ready for this economic brawl as their respective policymakers seem to project.

A Fitch Ratings downgrade last week reminded investors that China isn’t in a state-of-the-art financial position. Fitch downgraded China’s sovereign rating to ‘A’ from ‘A+’ amid concerns about shaky public finances.

“The downgrade reflects our expectations of a continued weakening of China’s public finances and a rapidly rising public debt trajectory during the country’s economic transition,” says Fitch analyst Jeremy Zook.

Zook adds that “in our view, sustained fiscal stimulus will be deployed to support growth, amid subdued domestic demand, rising tariffs and deflationary pressures. This support, along with a structural erosion in the revenue base, will likely keep fiscal deficits high.”

At the same time, Zook notes, “we expect the government debt/GDP to continue its sharp upward trend over the next few years, driven by these high deficits, ongoing crystallization of contingent liabilities and subdued nominal GDP growth.”

In other words, China has fiscal space to protect its 5% growth. But it’s not unlimited and deploying the stimulus “bazooka” yet again could come at a high cost in the long run.

The US, meanwhile, is carrying a US$36 trillion-plus national debt into this fight as recession talk heats up. Even worse is the self-inflicted nature of the US reckoning to come, one punctuated by a $10 trillion stock market loss so far.

As Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, notes, it “feels like we’re being pushed into recession – it’s recession by design.”

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, meanwhile, warns of a self-inflicted “economic nuclear winter” in Trump’s America.

“By placing massive and disproportionate tariffs on our friends and our enemies alike and thereby launching a global economic war against the whole world at once, we’re in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner,” says the Trump-supporting billionaire founder of Pershing Square.

Ackman adds that “business is a confidence game. The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe. The consequences for our country and the millions of our citizens who have supported the president — in particular low-income consumers who are already under a huge amount of economic stress — are going to be severely negative. This is not what we voted for.”

Larry Fink, head of BlackRock, the globe’s largest asset manager, notes that “most CEOs I talk to would say we are probably in a recession right now.”

Over the weekend, economists at Goldman Sachs assigned a 45% probability of the US falling into a formal recession within the year, up from 35% a week earlier.

Nobel economics prize laureate, Paul Krugman, observes that “Donald Trump burned it all down,” adding that “Trump isn’t really trying to accomplish economic goals. This should all be seen as a dominance display, intended to shock and awe people and make them grovel.”

Only China is not bending the knee, much to Trump’s surprise. The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, reports that Beijing is no longer “clinging to illusions” of striking a giant trade deal with the US.

Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, warned that investors are too narrowly fixated on tariffs and not paying enough attention to the bigger “once-in-a-lifetime” breakdown occurring in major monetary, political and geopolitical orders.

“It is obviously incongruous to have both large trade imbalances and large capital imbalances in a deglobalizing world in which the major players can’t trust that the other major players won’t cut them off from the items they need (which is an American worry) or pay them the money they are owed (which is a Chinese worry),” he wrote on X.

On Tuesday (April 8), China’s commerce ministry criticized the “blackmail nature of the US” trade war and vowed Beijing will “fight till the end.” It called Trump’s threat to layer another 50% tariff on China “a mistake on top of a mistake.”

Hong Kong’s leader John Lee calls Trump’s trade war “reckless” and representative of “ruthless behavior” that’s imperiling the city’s economy.

“The reckless imposition of tariffs affects many countries and regions around the world with huge tax rate increases and covering a wide range of goods, disrupting the world’s economic and trade order, bringing great risks and uncertainties to the world,” Lee says.

These provocations, he adds, have Hong Kong pivoting toward increasing trade with Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

All this has President Xi ramping up moves to bolster the domestic economy. The People’s Bank of China has been cautious about rate cuts this year amid concerns about yuan weakness.

The PBOC has latitude to ease amid weak pricing power in the $18 trillion economy. Especially with China suffering from deflationary forces and fending off rampant “Japanification” talk as China lowers its inflation target to 2% from 3% in 2024.

Fears of sending the yuan tumbling have dominated PBOC discussions. The central bank also wants to safeguard the progress Beijing has made in deleveraging the financial system in recent years. PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng worries that cutting rates might incentivize bad lending and borrowing decisions.

At the same time, a weaker yuan might trigger defaults among property developers as it becomes more expensive to make bond payments on offshore debt. Already, global investors are keeping close tabs on liquidity problems at major Chinese developers.

Putting yuan internationalization in jeopardy is another concern. For nearly a decade now, Xi’s government has been working to increase the yuan’s use in trade and finance.

Beijing stepped up cooperation with the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa — and Global South nations to pivot away from the dollar-centric world order.

Pivoting back to the beggar-thy-neighbor policies of the past might alarm international funds and tarnish the yuan’s chances of securing global reserve currency status.

A weaker yuan might have Japan, South Korea and other top Asian economies believing they have a green light to weaken exchange rates, too.

That would not go unnoticed by the Trump White House, which is escalating the biggest trade war in world history. If the White House concludes Beijing is manipulating the exchange rate, Trump might target China with even bigger tariffs.

Japan also is in Trumpian harm’s way. Corporate Japan was already reeling over Trump’s 25% import tax on all foreign-made automobiles when he hit the nation with a 24% import tax.

Hence Ishiba dispatching a trade negotiation team to Washington to secure a lower levy or buy Japan some time. Korea, too.

For Seoul, “it’s clear that major export products such as automobiles will be hit hard, and exports to the US through production bases in Vietnam will also be hit hard,” says Park Sang-hyun, an economist at iM Securities.

Late last month, trade ministers for China, Japan and Korea met for the first high-level economic dialogue in five years. The theme: beefing up regional trade as Trump’s White House supersizes its tariffs regime.

The nations’ trade ministers pledged to “closely cooperate for a comprehensive and high-level” process to create a three-way free trade agreement centered on “regional and global trade.”

Trump tossing new tariffs at the global trading system has officials in Seoul and Tokyo so worried that they’re talking despite historical enmities. 

Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party is turning to Beijing as the US, once Japan’s most reliable partner, becomes wildly unpredictable. Ditto for Seoul, which has had a decidedly rocky relationship with the Xi era.

Yet Trump’s apparent determination to hit China Inc harder and harder will send shockwaves through Tokyo, Seoul and beyond. In Asia, the collateral damage zone is growing as we speak.

Follow William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek

Continue Reading