US-China Rivalry in Asia Intensifies as Secretary Rubio Visits Malaysia

Strategic Insights -

The US and China are engaging in a contest for influence and loyalty in Asia, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with regional officials to align with Washington's efforts to restrict trade with China. Meanwhile, China's top foreign policy official, Wang Yi, is urging officials to resist US pressure and embrace Beijing as the more reliable partner.

Key Takeaways:

  • The US-China trade dispute is central to the agenda at a meeting planned between Secretary Rubio and Mr. Wang on Friday, with the countries clashing over America's restrictions on tech and other exports to China, US support for Taiwan, and China's chokehold on critical minerals and control over some supply chains.
  • Secretary Rubio has been pressing regional officials gathered at a conference in Kuala Lumpur to align with Washington's efforts to restrict trade with China, but his efforts have been overshadowed by new tariff threats made by President Trump to 14 foreign leaders, including Malaysia, the host of the meeting.
  • Diplomats from seven other nations targeted by the move are also at the meeting, and many of the countries trade more with China than with the United States, so President Trump's pressure campaign could risk pushing them closer to Beijing.
  • China is casting itself as a defender of the interests of developing countries that have been hit by Mr. Trump's disruptive trade policies, with Mr. Wang saying it was both "unreasonable and unethical" for the United States to impose 35 percent tariffs on Bangladesh.
  • China has been trying to court Southeast Asia to build a ballast against the Trump administration's efforts to reshape the global trading system, with its top leader, Xi Jinping, touring Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia in April to shore up ties in countries that have developed as intermediaries for Chinese exports.

Statistics:

  • $18 billion: The annual value of Chinese goods exported to Bangladesh, compared with $1 billion in Bangladeshi goods exported to China.
  • 35 percent: The tariff rate imposed by the US on Bangladeshi goods, described as "unreasonable and unethical" by China's top foreign policy official, Wang Yi.

Sources:

  • [1] "US-China Rivalry in Asia Intensifies as Secretary Rubio Visits Malaysia" by the New York Times (no date provided)
  • [2] "Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday" (Photo: Mandel Ngan FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)