US President Donald Trump waves goodbye before entering Air Force One to leave Manila, in the Philippines, just hours before the East Asia Summit he had been expected to attend, on November 14, 2017. Analysts see this as a key moment in the decline of US influence in the Asia-Pacific. Photo: AP US President Donald Trump waves goodbye before entering Air Force One to leave Manila, in the Philippines, just hours before the East Asia Summit he had been expected to attend, on November 14, 2017. Analysts see this as a key moment in the decline of US influence in the Asia-Pacific. Photo: AP
US President Donald Trump waves goodbye before entering Air Force One to leave Manila, in the Philippines, just hours before the East Asia Summit he had been expected to attend, on November 14, 2017. Analysts see this as a key moment in the decline of US influence in the Asia-Pacific. Photo: AP
Vasilis Trigkas
Opinion

Opinion

Vasilis Trigkas

How no-show Donald Trump allows China to advance its influence in the Asia-Pacific

  • Trump’s blunders in the region, including his continued absence from the East Asia Summit, damage US strategic credibility and make it harder for smaller states to resist China’s influence. All China has to do, basically, is show up

Vasilis Trigkas
Vasilis Trigkas

Updated: 3:27am, 2 Nov, 2019

Why you can trust SCMP
US President Donald Trump waves goodbye before entering Air Force One to leave Manila, in the Philippines, just hours before the East Asia Summit he had been expected to attend, on November 14, 2017. Analysts see this as a key moment in the decline of US influence in the Asia-Pacific. Photo: AP US President Donald Trump waves goodbye before entering Air Force One to leave Manila, in the Philippines, just hours before the East Asia Summit he had been expected to attend, on November 14, 2017. Analysts see this as a key moment in the decline of US influence in the Asia-Pacific. Photo: AP
US President Donald Trump waves goodbye before entering Air Force One to leave Manila, in the Philippines, just hours before the East Asia Summit he had been expected to attend, on November 14, 2017. Analysts see this as a key moment in the decline of US influence in the Asia-Pacific. Photo: AP
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Vasilis Trigkas

Vasilis Trigkas

Vasilis Trigkas is an Onassis Scholar and research fellow in the Belt & Road Strategy Centre at Tsinghua University