For subscribers
News analysis
Xi seeks to capitalise on trade turbulence in South-east Asia countries caught in Trump tariff bind
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Chinese President Xi Jinping's South-east Asian tour was likely on the cards well before Mr Donald Trump fired the first salvo in the trade war.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
BANGKOK – Chinese President Xi Jinping embarks on his first overseas trip of the year with an opportunity to make a case that Beijing is the dependable major power its closest neighbours can rely on amid an escalating trade war with the United States.
Doing so effectively, however, will require a touch of deft diplomacy, and recognition that its trading partners are caught in a bind, seeking to negotiate with Washington to salvage their trade-exposed economies.
