U.S.-China-Southeast Asia Relations: Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Cooperation

In partnership with the Center for Security and Strategy at China’s Tsinghua University and the Thailand Development Research Institute, The Asia Foundation convened 21 distinguished scholars, think tank representatives, and government officials from the United States, China, and Southeast Asia to explore this central question: What are the top priorities and concerns of the United States, China, and Southeast Asia in the coming decades? Inevitably, the workshop also covered related issues—among them, changes and alliances in China, the United States, and ASEAN, the status of “ASEAN centrality,” the politicization of trade and investment in the region, the roles that China and the United States intend to play, and Southeast Asia’s expectations from its relations with the United States and China.