Trade and Tariffs in Focus, as ASEAN Awaits Trump at KL Summit

Southeast Asian leaders will attend a regional summit with visiting global heads of state this weekend, but most attention will be focused on the outcome of trade talks between US and Chinese officials that will also occur in Kuala Lumpur.

The talks will determine whether the United States and China can achieve a trade deal while US President Donald Trump makes a quick swing through east and north Asia.

Trump appears eager for a deal with Beijing – and a potential meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who has confirmed that he will attend the APEC gathering being held in Seoul next Friday.

ALSO SEE: Cybercrime Epidemic Casts Shadow on ASEAN as Summit Looms

Southeast Asian nations have been rocked by Trump’s global tariff offensive, so Malaysia, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and other members of the regional bloc will also be seeking deeper ties with new partners.

Many want to pursue bilateral tariff deals with the US, although few are expected to be completed this weekend, given Washington’s current focus on a deal with Beijing.

Trump will be in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to begin a five-day trip through Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, aimed at bolstering his diplomatic credentials, as his negotiators work with Chinese officials to avert a trade war escalation.

Who will be there?

Sanae Takaichi is Japan’s first female PM (Reuters).

Other important leaders will also fly into Kuala Lumpur, such as Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who may meet with Trump, plus South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

“This represents a new strategic direction for Malaysia and ASEAN in expanding diplomatic and trade ties with other regions, including Africa and Latin America,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the summit’s host, said on Wednesday.

ASEAN, which also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, will formally welcome East Timor as its 11th member on Sunday.

Commonly known as Timor-Leste, its accession to ASEAN is seen as a political win for one of the world’s poorest countries, though analysts say the economic benefits remain uncertain.

There could also be important talks on key regional issues, such as the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, the scam centre ‘epidemic’ in some of the region’s poorest countries, plus the civil war in Myanmar, now nearly five years old.

Trump to witness ceasefire deal

ASEAN’s regional outreach comes even as its unity remains tested by internal disputes.

Border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia erupted into a deadly five-day conflict in July, killing dozens of people and temporarily displacing about 300,000 in their most intense fighting in recent history.

Malaysia helped secure an initial ceasefire on July 28, aided by decisive calls from Trump to the leaders of both countries.

Thai Defence Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit said this week the two countries have made “meaningful progress” on a broader ceasefire agreement, which will require both sides to remove all mines and heavy artillery from their borders.

The deal is expected to be signed on Sunday in the presence of Trump, Malaysian officials said.

Split over Myanmar

ASEAN, however, remains split over how to end a deadly civil war in Myanmar sparked by a military coup in 2021.

Fighting has intensified despite repeated calls for de-escalation, with ASEAN making little progress in getting Myanmar’s military rulers to adhere to a peace plan it agreed to months after the coup.

ASEAN foreign ministers will discuss on Friday whether to send regional observers to Myanmar’s general election, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said this week.

A long list of critics have derided the election, set to begin in December, as a sham exercise to legitimise military rule.

US tariffs, China trade

As said, Trump will be joined on his Asia trip by top US officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, plus Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, left, shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng — US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, left, with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, are seen at talks in Geneva in May. The two will lead negotiations in Malaysia this weekend (Reuters).

Bessent and Greer plan to hold talks with Chinese officials in Malaysia to iron out issues ahead of the meeting between Trump and Xi, after Beijing expanded export curbs on rare earths.

China said the talks with its vice premier He Lifeng will run until Monday (October 27).

Trump said he expected to reach agreements with Xi that could range from resumed soybean purchases by China to limits on nuclear weapons.

Trump could also meet with Brazil’s Lula in Malaysia, sources have said, as Rio looks to lower hefty US tariffs on Brazilian goods.

Washington’s levies are expected to remain high on the ASEAN summit agenda, with Southeast Asian foreign and economic ministers due to hold a joint meeting for the first time in the bloc’s history on Saturday.

The United States has imposed tariffs of between 10% and 40% on Southeast Asian imports, but the majority of ASEAN countries have been hit with a 19% rate.

The countries will seek to formalise trade deals with the United States with Trump present, Malaysian officials said.

Malaysia also plans to host a gathering of leaders of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world’s largest trading bloc, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

The RCEP, which includes all ASEAN members as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, is touted by some analysts as a potential counter to US tariffs, but it is considered weaker than some other regional trade deals due to competing interests among its members.