The head of the delegation from China's People's Liberation Army National Defense University attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore called accusations made by certain countries, including the United States, against China as baseless, saying that these accusations are intended to incite confrontation and destabilize the Asia-Pacific.

China has a "deficit of trust and credibility" it needs to overcome in order to mend its fraught defence ties with the Philippines, though any breakthrough in the near term remains unlikely, Manila's top defence official said on Saturday.

The three sides need to iron out differences in development as well as strategic priorities in areas such as dependence on the US, analysts say.

Southeast Asian nations held a summit Tuesday with China and six Persian Gulf countries in efforts to expand economic engagement as they grapple with U.S. tariff hikes.

Texts from simultaneous interpretation generated by a large language model for AI interpretation of a Guangxi-based technology company are displayed during an international conference in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, May 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Haoming)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang rallied a group of Southeast Asian and Gulf states to deepen cooperation and touted his country’s economic strength, as Beijing ramps up its charm offensive abroad to counter US efforts to isolate the economy.

China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are ramping up efforts to enhance regional economic cooperation and stabilize industrial and supply chains.

At a fully automated production line in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, cans of energy drinks rolled off conveyors, destined for shelves across China.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that division between the two superpowers, the United States and China, is the main risk currently confronting the world as he emphasised the need for building new coalitions between Paris and partners in the Indo-Pacific.