BERTRAND: ASEAN, GCC Countries and China Come Together, Forming the World’s Largest Economic Bloc

Gulf countries look east and west for trade agreements

The NewsThe GCC is looking east and west for free trade agreements and foreign investments to drive non-oil revenue. An inaugural summit of Southeast Asian countries, China, and the Gulf was held in Kuala Lumpur this week with the aim of bolstering economic ties against a backdrop of economic volatility and US tariffs: Chinese Premier Li Qiang said he hoped negotiations for a China-GCC Free Trade Agreement would “be concluded as early as possibl…

BERTRAND: ASEAN, GCC countries and China come together, forming the world’s largest economic bloc

China, the countries of South-East Asia (ASEAN) and the Arab states (GCC) just held a summit in Kuala Lumpur to forge what could become the world's largest economic bloc, covering everything from free trade agreements and de-dollarization.

Back to the Future: The Post-Dollar World Is Taking Shape

In the week of 25th May 2025, Kuala Lumpur played host to a landmark event: the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit. It brought together Southeast Asian nations, the Gulf states, and China - three pillars of the emerging multipolar order - in a signal moment of strategic realignment. While headlines may focus on trade, energy, and infrastructure cooperation, the deeper story lies in a quiet revolution in how the world’s fastest-growing economies tr…

Indonesia And China Pledge Deeper Economic Ties Amidst U.S. Trade War

Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto to advance plans aimed at expanding bilateral trade and economic investments between the two nations, just weeks after a new round of U.S.-China tariffs disrupted global supply chains. Over the course of the three-day visit, the leaders witnessed the signing of a series of agreements covering bilateral transactions in local currencies, trade, investment, tourism, health, an…

China, GCC, and ASEAN forge strategic alliance beyond trade and economics

In a diplomatic spectacle that could mark a turning point in global power dynamics, Kuala Lumpur hosted a historic trilateral summit on May 27 between China, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The gathering was more than just a forum for economic collaboration-it was a bold declaration of intent to reshape regional and global alignments in the face of shifting geopolitical tides. Chinese P…

Why Southeast Asian enterprises are increasingly eyeing Middle Eastern markets

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes On Tuesday 27 May, the GCC signed a statement to initiate negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Malaysia.  Similarly, both Indonesia and Thailand promoted an FTA with the GCC in February 2025, targeting a deal by the end of 2025, while Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in October 2024. The basis for this rerouting is twofold: firstly, a…