NEWS ANALYSIS: How Donald Trump influenced the Asean summit in his absence
‘Asians are trying to figure out what else they can do without relying on America too much’
Singapore — US President Donald Trump didn’t make it to this week’s summit of Asian nations in Singapore, but his influence was still keenly felt among the leaders who gathered in the city. One prime minister warned that the trade war between Washington and Beijing could trigger a “domino effect” of protectionist steps by other countries. Another fretted that the international order could splinter into rival blocs. “The most important and talked-about … leader, President Trump, is the only one that did not turn up,” said Malcolm Cook, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. And yet, in Trump’s absence, countries from South to East Asia pressed on with forging multilateral ties on trade and investment among themselves, including with China. China’s representative at the meetings, Premier Li Keqiang, egged them on. “Now the world is facing rising protectionism. It is all the more important for us to come together and respond to the complex world situation to u...
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