Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and China took centre stage at a landmark summit with Southeast Asian nations this week, vowing to bolster trade and deepen economic cooperation amid growing global uncertainty, Al Jazeera reports.

Meeting in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, the GCC, China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) issued a joint declaration committing to “chart a unified and collective path towards a peaceful, prosperous and just future”.

The gathering marked the inaugural trilateral meeting between ASEAN, China and the GCC – a bloc comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Their presence underscored a shift in the global landscape, as alternative centres of influence come to the fore at a time of heightened economic tensions, driven in part by former US President Donald Trump’s threats of punitive tariffs.

In a statement released on May 28, the three parties reaffirmed their intention to enhance economic collaboration, with a particular focus on free trade. The signatories said they were looking “forward to the early completion of the GCC-China Free Trade Agreement negotiations” as well as the expansion of the ASEAN-China free trade area.

The group also resolved to work together to make best of the full potential of those gathered. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country currently holds the ASEAN chairmanship, described the summit as an opportunity to leverage the vast scale of the three regions according to the Al Jazeera report. He told reporters that while the United States remained an important market, the combined gross domestic product (GDP) of ASEAN, the GCC and China stood at $24.87 trillion, with a total population of approximately 2.15bn.

Addressing concerns that ASEAN may be drifting too closely towards Beijing, the prime minister insisted the bloc remained committed to maintaining balanced engagement with all major powers, including the United States.