Trade war will damage East Asia's supply chains

Different countries and regions in East Asia have different advantages. For example, Japan and the Republic of Korea enjoy an edge when it comes to technologies and capital while China has a competitive advantage in market capacity, tech personnel and overall labor force. That's why East Asian economies have successfully built a complete industry chain.

As an emerging market, Southeast Asia has become attractive for many countries and regions, and a significant investment destination for China, Japan and the ROK owing to its cost advantage and huge market potential.

By the end of 2018, Japan, the ROK and ASEAN member states had invested $111.98 billion, $77.04 billion and $116.7 billion in China respectively, and Chinese investments in Japan, the ROK and the 10 ASEAN members states had reached $4.45 billion, $7.64 billion and $89.01 billion.