This has bizarrely received almost zero coverage in Western media but it's actually an absolutely massive deal.

China, the countries of South-East Asia (ASEAN) and the Arab states (GCC) just held a summit in Kuala Lumpur to forge what could become the world's largest economic bloc, covering everything from free trade agreements and de-dollarization to Belt-and-Road connectivity.

Together, these countries have over 2 billion people, 30% of the world's GDP and, crucially, about 55% of world GDP *growth* in PPP terms.

(from Arnaud Bertrand on X)

https://www.kln.gov.my/web/guest/-/joint-statement-summit-of-the-association-of-southeast-asian-nations-asean-the-cooperation-council-for-the-arab-states-of-the-gulf-gcc-and-the-people-