China has emerged as Southeast Asia's most influential external partner, narrowly surpassing the United States in a regional index measuring economic and diplomatic sway, reports Hong Kong's South china Morning Post.
The Lowy Institute's Southeast Asia Influence Index gave China a score of 65 out of 100, just ahead of the United States at 64. China ranked as the dominant power in six of the region's 11 countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Australian think tank said Southeast Asian nations are actively diversifying their partnerships to avoid over-reliance on any single power and to mitigate risks from the growing US-China rivalry. However, many remain deeply tied to China in areas such as tourism, investment and trade.
China accounts for about 20 per cent of the region's exports and 26 per cent of its imports, compared to 16 per cent of exports going to the United States, according to report authors Susannah Patton, Jack Sato and Rahman Yaacob.
SeaNews Turkey
The Lowy Institute's Southeast Asia Influence Index gave China a score of 65 out of 100, just ahead of the United States at 64. China ranked as the dominant power in six of the region's 11 countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Australian think tank said Southeast Asian nations are actively diversifying their partnerships to avoid over-reliance on any single power and to mitigate risks from the growing US-China rivalry. However, many remain deeply tied to China in areas such as tourism, investment and trade.
China accounts for about 20 per cent of the region's exports and 26 per cent of its imports, compared to 16 per cent of exports going to the United States, according to report authors Susannah Patton, Jack Sato and Rahman Yaacob.
SeaNews Turkey
