内容摘要：The spillover impacts of an all-out China-US trade war would be felt globally, and most economists judge that the impact would be highly negative.

The spillover impacts of an all-out China-US trade war would be felt globally, and most economists judge that the impact would be highly negative.

But Trump 2.0 threaten to shut those doors, which it sees as an unacceptable loophole. And that's a blow for fast-growing economies like Vietnam and Indonesia that are gunning to be key players in industries from chips to electric vehicles.They also find themselves stuck between the world's two biggest economies - China, a powerful neighbour and their biggest trading partner, and the US, a key export market, which could be looking to strike a deal at Beijing's expense.

And so Xi Jinping's long-planned trip to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia this week took on fresh urgency.All three countries rolled out the the red carpet for him, but Trump saw it as more evidence of themThe White House will use its upcoming negotiations with smaller nations to pressure them into limiting their dealings with Beijing, according to reports.

But that could be a fanciful ambition given the amount of money flowing between China and South East Asia.In 2024, China earned a record $3.5tn from exports - 16% of those went to South East Asia, its biggest market. Beijing, in turn, has paid for railways in Vietnam, dams in Cambodia and ports in Malaysia as part of its "Belt and Road" infratructure programme that seeks to boost ties abroad.

"We can't choose, and we will never choose [between China and the US]," Malaysia's trade minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz told the BBC on Tuesday, ahead of Xi's visit.

"If the issue is about something that we feel is against our interest, then we will protect [ourselves]."The president also said he planned to impose tariffs on the European Union in the future, saying the bloc had not treated the US well.

Campaigners from villages near to a proposed oil drilling site in the Lincolnshire Wolds will be at the High Court in London later to try to stop it going ahead.The legal action by SOS Biscathorpe is attempting to overturn a government decision made last year to allow work to begin.

The site is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and campaigners are concerned that a nearby chalk stream could be contaminated.The drilling company Egdon Resources said its operation would be done safely, adding there was a need for "indigenous oil and gas as the UK transitions to a low carbon economy”.