US Upgrades Economic Ties With ASEAN Amid China’s Growing Influence (The Diplomat, 30 March 2016)
ASEAN has become the strategic focus in the U.S. “rebalance to Asia” strategy. China enjoys comparative advantages in historic, geographic, and geo-economic terms, and has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for six consecutive years since the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) was launched in 2010 (in 2014, bilateral trade was over $480 billion and total Chinese FDI in ASEAN was about $400 billion). In an attempt to counter China’s economic influence and make up for its own loss (Washington traditionally has more leverage in political and security ties), the United States began to strengthen its trade and investment ties with Southeast Asia. According to the U.S. State Department, ASEAN countries now are collectively America’s fourth-largest trading partner. Progress was made especially during Obama administration: U.S. trade in goods with ASEAN countries has expanded by 55 percent and topped $226 billion in 2015, and U.S. FDI in ASEAN has nearly doubled since 2008, with a total stock of over $226 billion.