Stepping back to examine the structural FDl shifts already underway in the region, structural shifts that are giving rise to a new model of Factory Asia. 2.1 Factory Asia started its evolution prior to Trump 2.0 In the past, FDl inflows into Asia were largely shaped by earlier iterations of of industrial development, where countries upgrade in stages with the lead the value chain. In Asia, Japan led the first wave of export-oriented manufacturing, followed by the newly industrialized economies of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and eventually China, which became the dominant hub for labor- intensive production before itself upgrading to higher-tech sectors. Prior to Trump 2.o, this Factory Asia model had already begun to evolve. China has historically been the largest recipient of FDl within Asia. Yet since 2019, FDl into China has fallen drastically, by 66.3%, removing it from the top position ever since. In contrast, FDl to the rest of Asia grew by 65.3%, marking the rise of other