Stock prices have been a powerful support for the Make America Great Again agenda because the US market is so big as to be the tail wagging the dog. Close attention must be paid to the recent market stumble and America’s slowing GDP growth – where US stock prices go, so goes the global economy.
Rather than being out to undermine economies around the world, China’s economic policy is based on foresight, efficiency and commitment to scale. Decoupling would not only disrupt supply chains but increase the cost of the global energy transition amid our ongoing climate struggle.
As distinctions blur between economic and security agendas, and Big Tech gets involved in geopolitics, a strategy of avoidance becomes unsustainable. Asean should realise the long game of international affairs is about setting rules and standards, not just the movement of goods, services and data.