Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


How the Coronavirus Turned Southeast Asia into China's Top Trade Partner

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Ablocof Southeast Asian countries has become China's
   biggest trading partner this year as economic activity picks up on both
   sides while slowing in wealthier parts of the world because of
   coronavirus outbreaks.

   Over the first five months of 2020, trade between the Association of
   Southeast Asian Nations bloc and the massive Chinese market reached
   $240 billion, up 4.2% over the same period of 2019, Beijing's state-run
   Xinhua News Agency said. China's trade with the block equals about 15%
   of its total worldwide.

   China, the world's No. 2 economy, began easing disease containment
   measures including factory shutdowns in March, followed by Southeast
   Asian states such as Vietnam and Malaysia. Much of the West is still
   struggling with shutdowns, supply chain cuts and weak consumer
   sentiment.

   "The way we do things, we have sort of a one-track mind, so it's better
   to deal with your peers," said JonathanRavelas, chief market strategist
   with Banco de Oro UniBank in Metro Manila.

   "And that's the reason (for) the potential bounce back in
   Asia,"Ravelassaid. "Even if you look at the way they handled this
   COVID-19, they followed the lockdowns more compared to the Western
   counterparts."

   The bloc better known as ASEAN had already expanded relations with
   China over 20 years through a free-trade deal, industrialization and
   geographic proximity that lowers shipping costs.

.