Kuala Lumpur gatherings should work to reinforce solidarity against tariff threats

With the United States' disruption of global industry and supply chains becoming the new normal, and the unpredictability of the policies of the world's largest economy creating uncertainties, the role of regional economic cooperation and integration as the ballast and driver for Asia's economic development has become all the more important.

In this sense, the importance of the series of meetings involving the foreign ministers of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other countries in the coming two days in Kuala Lumpur cannot be overestimated, especially with the US administration continuing to wage its tariff war.

The China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers' Meeting are being held in the Malaysian capital from Thursday to Friday.

These meetings come at a crucial time, as US President Donald Trump announced on Monday the tariff rates the US will levy on 14 countries, starting from Aug 1. Six ASEAN members — Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand — are among the 14 countries that will be subject to the tariffs, with Japan and the Republic of Korea also receiving heavy blows from the cudgel of Trump's tariffs.

With the Trump administration riding roughshod over the interests of all countries by wielding the stick of tariffs in an arbitrary manner, never has the development of the global economy faced such a high degree of uncertainty and caprice.

That Trump said via Truth Social on Sunday that any country aligning itself with what he called "the anti-US policies of BRICS" would be charged an additional 10 percent tariff suggests that there is no rule to follow when it comes to trade dealings with the US, except to put "America first".

No country can predict what tariff rate the Trump administration will charge and on what grounds. So all countries must brace themselves for additional tariffs. In such circumstances, regional cooperation is crucial for countries to withstand the blows from the US' coercive tariff actions.

The damaging effects of the US tariff policy have further increased the importance of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which was signed in November 2020. This regional free trade agreement involves 15 member countries — the 10 ASEAN countries along with Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. These countries account for 30 percent of the world's population and 30 percent of the global gross domestic product.

That ASEAN overtook the European Union as early as 2020 to become the top trading partner of China points to the importance both China and ASEAN have attached to the development of bilateral trade ties and to the integration of the regional economy.

In October 2019, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement Upgrading Protocol took full effect as the outcome document of the two economies' negotiations on upgrading their FTA. Within this FTA framework, more than 90 percent of goods from China and ASEAN are subject to zero tariffs, which has laid a solid foundation for greater regional economic cooperation and integration.

At the meetings in Kuala Lumpur suggestions and advice will hopefully be forthcoming to cement what has been achieved so far in regional economic cooperation and integration, and further the efforts of all countries involved to make this regional integrated development a counterweight to the destructive US unilateralism and trade protectionism.

Despite the disruptions and attempts at interference and the introduction of bloc confrontation, trade and investment in Asia remain vibrant, and new economic drivers keep emerging.

Since it was first proposed in 2013, building a community with a shared future for mankind has developed from a promising vision into a concrete proposition. There are bright prospects awaiting a closer-knit Asian community with a shared future, as the region remains dynamic and has tremendous potential for cooperation yet untapped.

But to realize this potential, more trust-building measures and diplomacy are needed within the region to reject the damaging meddling of external forces and to consolidate the foundation for cooperation and expand common ground.

The region has a rich historical heritage for knitting together a closer community with a shared future. It should build on this legacy so it can better withstand the US' tariff blows and keep moving forward in the right direction.