October 29, 2025
The U.S.–Asia economic landscape is shifting rapidly as U.S. President Donald Trump’s Asia tour drives a wave of new trade deals while China moves to deepen its own regional influence. The week’s developments underscore how trade policy has become a key instrument of geopolitical strategy in both Washington and Beijing.
At the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, President Trump announced a string of bilateral agreements aimed at expanding U.S. exports and investment. The United States signed new trade deals with Malaysia and Cambodia, along with framework agreements with Thailand and Vietnam. The arrangements promise greater market access for American goods, with Cambodia committing to remove most tariffs on U.S. industrial and agricultural products and Thailand pledging similar reductions. Each deal also includes plans for major purchases of U.S. aircraft, liquefied natural gas, and farm products. U.S. tariffs, averaging around 19–20%, will remain in place, but officials say the approach is designed to strengthen supply chains and safeguard U.S. industries such as critical minerals (U.S. Mission to ASEAN, 2025).
In a parallel move, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed the upgraded ASEAN–China Free Trade Area, or ACFTA 3.0, also in Kuala Lumpur. Chinese Premier Li Qiang described the pact as a “shield” against protectionism, highlighting cooperation in the digital and green economies and in supply-chain resilience. The agreement builds on an already strong trade relationship—two-way trade between China and ASEAN nears $1 trillion annually—and positions Beijing as the region’s central economic partner amid uncertainty in U.S. trade policy (AP News, 2025).
Still, tensions remain among Washington’s allies ahead of next month’s APEC Summit. Negotiations between the United States and South Korea have stalled over the structure of a proposed $350 billion investment package. Washington favors direct financial contributions, while Seoul prefers loan guarantees and a currency-swap mechanism to protect its economy. The dispute is expected to dominate the upcoming meeting between President Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Gyeongju. Meanwhile, officials are working to finalize a Trump–Xi meeting that could determine whether the recent trade frameworks signal a lasting realignment—or simply a pause in the ongoing U.S.–China economic rivalry (KED Global, 2025).
https://apnews.com/article/asean-china-free-trade-trump-8a9d0f1ed5e87ebba4b5798275cd3605
https://www.kedglobal.com/business-politics/newsView/ked202510240004
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-asia-malaysia-china-japan-55a147dce68e6d8fa70c2b858249c7ec
