What 2026 holds for Asean on the US-China fault line
The new year could be defined by more disruptive Chinese exports, rising competition and the necessity of difficult balancing acts
Add BT as a preferred source
AT A time of growing geopolitical and economic disorder, South-east Asia faces a pivotal year. Three-and-a-half decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the post-Cold War vision of a stable, liberal global world order has been thoroughly tested and replaced by a complex reality.
The biggest game changer in global affairs since then is the rise of China as a nascent superpower, and the resulting rivalry with the US has made Asean the central stage for economic and political competition.
China’s rise and Asean
Beijing has now surpassed Washington as the world’s largest economy by purchasing power parity, and only last week became the first nation to report an astonishing trade surplus of more than US$1 trillion.
TRENDING NOW
CSE Global independent director quits after clashes with chairman Eugene Lai over board refresh
What’s wrong with Orchard Road? Experts weigh in on the street’s cachet and its future
‘I felt like dying’: Thai Singha beer scion speaks up after disclosure of alleged sexual abuse
Rare brutalist Singapore house opens to the public before changing hands
