The GCC, China, ASEAN countries pledged to promote trade and work to ‘unleash the full potential of our partnership’.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says Southeast Asian nations will forge a common front to face challenges including economic headwinds from U.S. tariffs and the four-year deadly civil war in Myanmar.

The GCC’s pivot to the East is a “pragmatic move," says Joanne Lin, senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.