US anti-China digital trade deal seen as 'dead in the water' for Joe Biden in Asia

As the United States mulls a digital trade agreement to counter China, it faces a key problem as many countries in Asia do not want to join any deal seen as challenging Beijing, whose technology giants are deeply entrenched in the region. China's largest corporations like Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings have in recent years led a wave of investment into Southeast Asia, which has more than half a billion people rapidly migrating online. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post. Governments in the region have largely resisted US calls in recent years to avoid Huawei…