Latest news with #tradegrowth
Malay Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Anwar: Asean-GCC-China summit opens doors for US$25t collaboration
KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today hailed the inaugural Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Summit as a significant platform for fostering collaboration among some of the world's most influential economic blocs. 'Asean, the GCC, and China collectively represent a combined GDP of US$24.87 trillion and a population of approximately 2.15 billion,' Anwar said during his opening remarks before over a dozen heads of state. 'This collective scale offers vast opportunities to synergise our markets, deepen innovation, and promote cross-regional investment.' Among the notable attendees was China's Premier Li Qiang. China has been Asean's largest trading partner since 2009, driving economic growth in the region through its rapid development. Asean economies have benefited significantly from China's demand for raw materials, agricultural goods, and intermediate products, while the superpower has supplied the region with consumer electronics, industrial machinery, and high-tech products. Trade between Asean and China, facilitated by a free trade agreement, has more than doubled since 2010 — from US$235.5 billion to US$507.9 billion in 2019. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, it exceeded RM1 trillion. The summit, a first of its kind, comes against the backdrop of economic turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs. Trump imposed steep import duties on both Asean countries and China, with levies on Chinese imports reaching as high as 145 per cent. Asean leaders met yesterday for its 46th summit, where they signed a declaration pushing for more collaboration. Anwar said the ten-member grouping understood the need to remain united amid growing geopolitical volatility. Today, the Malaysian prime minister said Asean had long demonstrated that regionalism, anchored in consensus, respect, and openness, can succeed. 'We have thrived in our longstanding partnerships with the GCC and China. Today, we have the opportunity to enhance these ties,' he said.
Malay Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Anwar: Asean-GCC-China summit opens doors for US$25 trillion collaboration
KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today hailed the inaugural Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Summit as a significant platform for fostering collaboration among some of the world's most influential economic blocs. 'Asean, the GCC, and China collectively represent a combined GDP of US$24.87 trillion and a population of approximately 2.15 billion,' Anwar said during his opening remarks before over a dozen heads of state. 'This collective scale offers vast opportunities to synergise our markets, deepen innovation, and promote cross-regional investment.' Among the notable attendees was China's Premier Li Qiang. China has been Asean's largest trading partner since 2009, driving economic growth in the region through its rapid development. Asean economies have benefited significantly from China's demand for raw materials, agricultural goods, and intermediate products, while the superpower has supplied the region with consumer electronics, industrial machinery, and high-tech products. Trade between Asean and China, facilitated by a free trade agreement, has more than doubled since 2010 — from US$235.5 billion to US$507.9 billion in 2019. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, it exceeded RM1 trillion. The summit, a first of its kind, comes against the backdrop of potential economic turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs, which imposed steep import duties on both Asean countries and China, with levies on Chinese imports reaching as high as 145 per cent. MORE TO COME
Free Malaysia Today
23-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Apec warns of US tariff impact on trade as members seek deals
APEC, representing half of global trade and 60% of GDP, warned exports in the region barely grew this year. (Reuters pic) SEOGWIPO : The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) grouping warned on Thursday that exports in the region will barely grow this year amid US tariffs, as the 21-member bloc kicked off an annual gathering of its trade ministers. Apec projected exports in the region would rise by only 0.4% this year, after increasing 5.7% last year, in its regional trends analysis report released at its 2025 meeting of ministers responsible for trade in South Korea's resort island of Jeju. The bloc also cut its regional economic growth forecast for this year to 2.6% from 3.3% previously. 'Trade growth is set to decline sharply across Apec due to lower external demand, particularly in manufacturing and consumer goods, while rising uncertainty over goods-related measures weighs on services trade,' Apec said in a statement. The Trump administration's sweeping tariffs have targeted more than half of the Apec grouping, where regional average tariff rates fell to 5.3% by 2021, from 17% in 1989, when the non-binding economic forum was established. This period saw merchandise trade increase more than nine-fold. For two days from Thursday, trade representatives of the member economies will discuss multilateral trade and other cooperation agendas, including reforms of the World Trade Organization amid current challenges. The Trump administration views the WTO as a body that has enabled China to gain an unfair export advantage and has recently moved to pause US funding to the institution. On the sidelines of the gathering, US trade representative Jamieson Greer is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with his South Korean counterpart, three weeks after their opening round of trade talks in Washington, DC, and his first face-to-face meeting with New Zealand, as well as with other Asian countries. 'We're moving as quickly as we possibly can with folks who want to be ambitious,' Greer told CNBC television before he departed for Jeju on Tuesday. His office declined to comment on his schedule for bilateral meetings. China's vice commerce minister Li Chenggang is also attending the gathering, a ministry official said, without giving details on whether he will have another meeting with Greer in Jeju, after they agreed to slash steep tariffs at their first face-to-face talks in Geneva on May 10-11. The trade ministers' meeting is being held as part of a second round of senior officials' meetings ahead of an Apec leaders' summit later this year in Gyeongju, South Korea. Apec accounts for about half of global trade and 60% of global GDP.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's Factory Output Grows More Than Forecast Despite Tariffs
China's industrial output expanded faster than expected in April, highlighting the resilience of the world's second-largest economy and feeding optimism about growth following a quick de-escalation of trade tensions with the US. Goldman Sachs Chief China Economist Hui Shan and Credit Agricole Chief China Economist Xiaojia Zhi share their insights on the latest snapshot of China's economy.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's Factory Output Grows More Than Forecast Despite Tariffs
China's industrial output expanded faster than expected in April, highlighting the resilience of the world's second-largest economy and feeding optimism about growth following a quick de-escalation of trade tensions with the US. Goldman Sachs Chief China Economist Hui Shan and Credit Agricole Chief China Economist Xiaojia Zhi share their insights on the latest snapshot of China's economy.
