The rising tension between the US and China will not have an immediate impact on ASEAN’s economic growth as a majority of the countries in the grouping have a domestic demand-driven economy and are backed by sound economic and policy fundamentals, says S&P Global Ratings Economist Vincent Conti as quoted by The Star. China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slumped in September to the lowest non-holiday level in two years, an indicator that the trade war with the U.S. has begun to bite, according to Nikkei Asian Review. European companies operating in China are extremely worried about getting caught in the US-China trade war crossfire and some are considering relocating to Southeast Asia, according to South China Morning Post.