By Yoon Soo Heong

Asian solidarity key to navigating Trump’s policy shifts

To put it simply, Donald Trump has turned the world upside down since Jan 20 with his impulsive and incoherent MAGA (Make America Great Again) dreams.

The 47th United States president’s on-again, off-again protectionism swings have been a nightmare for America’s allies. His economic nationalism has certainly lost him a lot of friends abroad.

With the economic turbulence he has created, what can Asia do to withstand the shocks?

And what should Malaysia, as the chair of Asean this year, do to muster its member states into action to withstand the onslaught of economic incomprehensibility?

Asean Summit scheduled for May 26-27 in Kuala Lumpur should shed some light on how they should strategise even before they engage with their dialogue partners like the US in October.

But the best bet for an early and strong Asian response to reflect the continent’s solidarity could be through the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference in the southern Chinese island of Hainan on March 25-28.

For two decades, the BFA, also dubbed “Asian Davos” for its World Economic Forum-like deliberations, has been the scene for robust discussions affecting the global economy.

As an international organisation that has 29 countries and organisations as members, it started off as an annual conference to promote economic integration in Asia but has now shifted gears to pool positive energy for the development of Asia and the world.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future”, focusing on fostering dialogue, promoting development and exploring innovative solutions to global challenges.

It should prove to be timely to address some of the world’s pressing issues like heightened economic fragmentation and protectionism.

With the unpredictability that Trump has shown, BFA’s topics for this year — “Building trust and cooperation in a rapidly changing world” and “Rebalancing globalisation for inclusive development” — offer plenty of thought.

To reflect its global worldview, BFA will also discuss topics like “Accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” and “Strengthening AI (artificial intelligence) governance and innovation-driven development”.

Amidst economic globalisation and regional integration, Asian countries have often faced great opportunities and severe challenges.

The uncertainly affecting them since Trump took office requires strong cooperation with other parts of the world to enhance mutual exchanges and collaborations.

Perhaps it would not be out of place to say that Asia has a strong bargaining chip, in that, it accounts for about US$18.2 trillion of the total merchandise trade value in 2024, reflecting its resilience and leadership in global trade.

Its share of the global nominal exports and imports also rose
to 38.9 per cent and 36.7 per cent, respectively, respectable
numbers that are not to be scoffed at.

And with a population of 4.81 billion people, or nearly 59 per cent of the global population, Asia is the most populous continent on Earth.

The way forward for Asia is to cope with the common challenges to maintain its healthy economic growth, and to strengthen coordination and cooperation.

The American policy shifts would induce thoughts of greater alliances with Europe, Africa and Latin America. This should provide some buffer against Trump’s frenetic chase to bolster America’s economy.

In terms of strengthening regional cooperation, initiatives like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) can help Asian nations deepen intra-regional trade and reduce reliance on external markets.

RCEP, the world’s largest free trade agreement involving 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Asean 10 along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, has been operating since 2022 and covers about 30 per cent of the world’s population and gross domestic product.

By eliminating tariffs on over 90 per cent of goods within 20 years, RCEP should facilitate smoother trade flows and lower costs besides encouraging the development of supply chains in Asia, thus reducing reliance on external markets.

As a significant step towards strengthening Asia’s role in the global economy, RCEP should help Asia by expanding trade relationships with Europe, Africa, and Latin America to mitigate risks associated with US policy shifts.

Asia, you are not without worthy trade allies as true friends are the ones who show up in hard times.

* The writer is a former Bernama chief executive officer and editor-in-chief