For all the advances in technology that make virtual summits convenient and productive, nothing can replace a handshake and face-to-face meetings. For this reason, while the just-ended Asean and related East Asia summits in Cambodia may not have produced dramatic announcements, they have set a good tone for this week’s gathering of Group of 20 leaders and Monday’s widely anticipated bilateral meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his United States counterpart Joe Biden. That Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was in the same meeting room in Phnom Penh with Mr Biden and leaders of Australia and Japan, all countries with which Beijing has had testy relations lately, was a reminder of the importance for all concerned to have a working relationship in the face of mounting global challenges.

While the East Asia Summit underscored Asean’s convening power and its value to its dialogue partners at a time of tremendous geopolitical flux, the Asean summit itself will be remembered for the in-principle approval granted to Timor-Leste to fulfil its long-held ambition to join the regional grouping as its 11th member. There is still some ways to go for the nation of less than 1.5 million people. The country is significantly less advanced than its South-east Asian partners and will require their help to meet social development goals and move towards becoming a stronger and middle-income economy.