Southeast Asia poll shows China beats US as top economic power

The Chinese delegation led by Yang Jiechi (centre), director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office, and Wang Yi (second left), China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, speak with their US counterparts at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 18, 2021. (Reuters photo)

China is seen as the most influential economic power in Southeast Asia, according to the new poll, although there’s caution over Beijing’s territorial positions over the South China Sea.

A survey of 1,677 Southeast Asians by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute showed 76.7% regard China as the most influential economic power in the region, followed by the United States at a very distant 9.8%. Washington trailing in second place comes after the Biden administration finally unveiled its strategy to engage with Asia last week.