The leaders of Southeast Asian countries gathered in Laos this year for the annual ASEAN summit. Among areas of focus, they agreed to upgrade a free trade agreement with China. What is the importance of Southeast Asia for the global economy? 

Joining the discussion: 

• Ei Sun Oh is Principal Adviser at Pacific Research Center of Malaysia. 
• Zoon Ahmed Khan is a Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization. 
• Einar Tangen is a Senior Fellow at the Taihe Institute and Chairman of Asia Narratives. 
• Sourabh Gupta is Senior Asia-Pacific international relations policy specialist at the Institute for China-America Studies. 

#Opinion: US cooperative mechanisms with ASEAN often harbor ulterior motives, overtly or covertly targeting China. While ASEAN’s important neighbor China is genuinely advancing friendly relations and common development through tangible projects. What should ASEAN do? The ASEAN… pic.twitter.com/tCjnU0tHrl

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) October 12, 2024

China firmly supports the building of the ASEAN Community, as well as ASEAN's central position in regional cooperation and its greater role in international affairs, 🇨🇳 Premier Li Qiang said in Vientiane on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/e2VLgWj22n

— Mission of China to the EU (@ChinaEUMission) October 10, 2024