Southeast Asia turns to the US as China exports drop

SINGAPORE (Oct 6): After years of looking to China as a source of growth, Southeast Asian countries are turning their attention back to the world’s largest economy on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Exports to the US from all but one of the six largest economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations increased in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to the most recent data from the International Monetary Fund. Shipments to China declined in four of the countries in the same period.

The improvement in US sales comes against the backdrop of a contraction in trade across East Asia, the manufacturing hub of the world. It also shows the US — Asean’s largest trading partner as recently as 2007, but now ranked third behind China and Japan — is making a comeback as a key source of demand for Asian goods.

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