The region is receptive: Southeast Asia is caught between the threat of dramatically higher US tariffs on one hand, and a surge of cheaper Chinese goods that are undercutting their economies on the other. But Macron is also confronting the reality that the region won’t shake its dependence on either of the world’s superpowers anytime soon.
French President Emmanuel Macron is spearheading the latest effort by European leaders to woo Southeast Asian nations worried about becoming collateral damage in the US trade war and security disputes between Washington and Beijing.
Macron already announced EUR9 billion ($13.14 billion) in deals and promises of closer defense cooperation on a visit to Vietnam on Monday. He’ll aim to build on that momentum later this week in Indonesia and then in Singapore, where he’s giving a keynote address to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum on Friday.
