KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -China will sign up to a Southeast Asian treaty banning nuclear weapons in the region as soon as all documentation is ready, Malaysia's foreign minister said on Thursday.

The U.S. Secretary of State wants to bolster defense ties in the Indo-Pacific, while distrust of Trump’s commitments to the region, particularly on economic issues, runs deep.

Chinese state media warned the Trump administration against striking deals that sideline China, after the president announced that Asian countries would face higher tariffs starting on Aug. 1.

China’s falling producer prices and Southeast Asia’s slowing inflation reveal a deeper, transnational impact of Donald Trump’s trade policies

Beijing has repeatedly accused the Philippines of being in a pawn in U.S. efforts to contain China's rise and touted bilateral dialogue with its neighbor as the only solution to their territorial dispute.

China will sign the Protocol to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) as soon as all documentation is ready, said Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan. “China made a commitment to ensure that it will sign the treaty without reservation. That’s something very good for Asean,” he said.

As China and the U.S. compete in artificial intelligence, Southeast Asia should draw from the best of both, panelists said at CNBC’s East Tech West conference.

While U.S. and European companies have reduced their average dividend payouts over the past decade, Asian corporates have maintained consistent payout ratios, reflecting the region’s improving balance sheets,

In South-East Asia China presents its plans as commensurate with ASEAN’s own desire for regional integration. The Asian Development Bank calculates that if developing Asia is to keep up growth, ...