KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Amid rising protectionism and unilateralism, stronger cooperation among China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will boost global trade and investment, a Malaysian expert has said.

"China, as well as ASEAN and GCC countries, all share common aspirations in development and global challenges to them. It therefore makes good sense for us to work more closely than before in multiple sectors," said Bunn Nagara, director and senior fellow at the Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for Asia-Pacific, an independent think tank based in Kuala Lumpur.

Energy, food security, and supply chain resilience offer the greatest potential for trilateral cooperation, Nagara told Xinhua on Saturday. GCC leads in oil and gas, China in renewables and EVs, and ASEAN is a key consumer market and production hub.

"Better resilience can be achieved by starting to work together more closely, then in ironing out any difficulties by resolving challenges along the way," he said. "What is important is an open attitude receptive to new areas and ways of cooperation, while remaining sensitive to the needs of other partners."

Nagara sees the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a key mechanism for advancing the trilateral collaboration. "The BRI is a vast project that covers many related areas, including the digital economy and the green transition," he said.

The BRI is closely aligned with their shared interests in sustainable growth, offering fertile ground for ASEAN-GCC-China synergies, he added.

As global trade faces strong headwinds from protectionism and unilateralism, Nagara believes that the ASEAN-GCC-China cooperation serves as a model for the Global South.

"China and the ASEAN and GCC countries are also nations of the Global South, besides being Asian countries," said Nagara. The collaboration could inspire similar initiatives among countries in Africa and Latin America that share common aspirations.

"We do what we do to protect our legitimate interests in development, not to threaten other countries or regions. We prefer to be non-confrontational because that is a better way to ensure mutual benefit," Nagara said.

"Part of our interests lies in protecting global trade on which our respective national development programs depend. This will also benefit other countries and regions around the world," said Nagara. "We should now look forward to more decades of development, enhanced by mutual complementarities." ■