This is quite consequential.
China, Japan, South Korea and the countries of ASEAN just issued a joint statement (https://asean.org/joint-statement-of-the-28th-asean3-finance-ministers-and-central-bank-governors-meeting/) in which they take a unified stance against “escalating trade protectionism”, a clear reference to Trump’s tariffs.
They write that their common “policy priority” is “to reinforce long-term resilience” of the region, which given the policies they detail clearly means building financial and trade infrastructure that aims at reducing their exposure to the US.
The statement outlines a comprehensive strategy to strengthen trade between the signatories, enhance local currency bond markets and reduce dependence on Western financial institutions (via, for instance, the expansion of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation, CMIM).
Particularly notable is their explicit support for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – the world’s largest trade agreement that includes all the signatories but not the US.
All in all, Trump is achieving the unthinkable: bringing East and Southeast Asia together in an economic bloc that seeks to derisk itself from America.
This is quite consequential.
China, Japan, South Korea and the countries of ASEAN just issued a joint statement (https://t.co/uk2upyisnt) in which they take a unified stance against “escalating trade protectionism”, a clear reference to Trump’s tariffs.
They write that their… pic.twitter.com/SIoV6jhCet
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) May 5, 2025
