A total of 96 trade barrier investigations targeting China were announced by its trading partners from January to July 2024, already exceeding the 63 in the whole of last year [...] Among China’s trading partners, the United States, India and the European Union have issued the most complaints.
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[Now] new trade barriers from ASEAN bloc countries appear to be on the way.
Malaysia’s commerce ministry said this week it would table its proposed anti-dumping legislation in parliament next year to protect industries from “the effects of unfair trade resulting from the massive influx of cheap imported products from countries including China.”
In June, Indonesia’s trade ministry also announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 200 percent on some Chinese-made products to protect its manufacturing industry from dumping practices triggered by Western nations’ trade wars with China.
Indonesia and Japan on Thursday agreed to amendments to an economic deal aimed at reducing or removing trade barriers, Reuters reported.
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The moves by China’s neighbors suggest that the region sees a more imminent need to rebalance some of its trade relationships with China, as a growing proportion of cheaper Chinese imports could hurt their domestic industries.
Heavy production and export ASEAN economies, such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand are prime destinations for Chinese exports and companies looking to avoid the impact of the US-China trade war.
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This is a slight increase amid growing accusations of Chinese export overcapacity, potentially exposing China to more trade barriers.
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The share of Chinese exports to developed economies such as the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea has fallen amid the U.S.-China trade war and calls from governments to eliminate China-related risks in their supply chains.
Yet Beijing officials have repeatedly touted China’s relations with Southeast Asian countries and members of its Belt and Road Initiative as thriving, and since 2020 the ASEAN bloc has overtaken the EU to become China’s largest trading partner.