Chinese Premier Li Qiang set for joint meeting with Gulf and Southeast Asian states

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend a joint meeting of Southeast Asian and Gulf states in Malaysia next week as Beijing continues its push to rally support for its stance on tariffs.

Li will also visit Indonesia for three days starting on Saturday before attending the first joint meeting of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the foreign ministry in Beijing said on Thursday.

The GCC has a membership of six Arab states, including major oil producers Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

“China looks forward to working with Asean and GCC countries to deepen pragmatic collaboration across various sectors … uphold the multilateral trading system and safeguard the common interests of the Global South,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

She said the summit would be vital in discussing “unity, collaboration, and shared prosperity” in the context of the current global picture, a veiled reference to the threat of sweeping tariffs imposed by the United States.

“China looks forward to continuing to strengthen cooperation with Indonesia across the five key pillars: political, economic, cultural, maritime, and security,” Mao added.

During the trip to Indonesia, Li will meet President Prabowo Subianto and other political and business leaders from Southeast Asia’s largest economy.