Trade tensions: China poses itself as alternative to US protectionism; signs expanded Asean free trade pact

China on Tuesday positioned itself as an option for open markets and regional cooperation, signing an upgraded free trade pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) while taking a veiled swipe at US President Donald Trump ’s protectionist stance. Premier Li Qiang said the new pact — the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 — highlighted Beijing’s commitment to economic openness, in contrast to Washington’s tariff-heavy approach. “Pursuing confrontation instead of solidarity brings no benefit,” Li said at the ASEAN-China summit, invoking President Xi Jinping ’s earlier remark that “unity is strength", as quoted by AP. The revised agreement expands the original 2002 pact implemented in 2010, covering a market of more than 2 billion people. It includes provisions for dig