Diplomats said trade was the main discussion topic of the ASEAN Summit, amid a US-China tension.

"We don't want to get involved in a trade war. But sometimes they are not kind to us, so we also have to be unkind to them," Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said today at a On the sidelines of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Thailand. He called on the nations of Southeast Asia to unite with each other in the context of the ongoing US-China trade war.

In a draft joint statement of the conference viewed by Reuters, the leaders will express "deep concern about the growing trade tensions, the protectionism and anti-globalization taking place".

Diplomats said this year's conference would have less discussion of perennial regional issues such as the South China Sea issue or Rohingya refugees in Myanmar. "We want global economic peace," said Arin Jira, chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang led the Chinese delegation to join the ASEAN conference. Meanwhile, US President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are not attending the event. The delegation was led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien. Mr. Pence attended the ASEAN Summit last year in Singapore and Mr. Trump was present at the 2017 event in the Philippines.

The US-China trade war lasted for more than a year with tit-for-tat taxation, negatively affecting the global economy. Washington and Beijing have recently given good signals, saying the two sides are about to reach a first-phase trade agreement on currencies, financial services and agricultural products. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to sign an agreement on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Chile on November 16-17 but the event was canceled. . The two sides have not announced a plan to meet.