Over the past 40 years, the exchanges between the U.S. and China have not just been in economic goods and services, but also in economic ideas. Without that openness, China will miss out on exactly the kind of interchanges that Deng and reformers of his era believed were essential to China?s success. How much credit should historians give to Deng for the economic transformation that took place in China starting in the 1980s? PhotoYou note that the Chinese state and Communist Party under Xi Jinping have promoted hostility toward Western ideas and values. Xi?s recent remarks at Davos presented China as the world?s new champion of ?openness? and ?globalization.? But, in fact, China?s leaders are not encouraging Chinese openness to foreign ideas.

For now, Trump`s immigration order isn`t expected to directly hit political or economic ties with either country but it could bring longer-term social costs. "While Trump`s policies may not affect bilateral relations, it will certainly sway public perception, against the U.S," Arul Hadi Abdullah, Malaysia analyst at BowerGroupAsia, told CNBC in anticipation of the ban on Friday. Many expect Trump`s policies, perceived as unjust and discriminatory, could result in a decline of American soft power in Muslim-majority regions, which former U.S. leader Barack Obama attempted to carefully rebuild in the aftermath of the Bush regime. Politicians in Malaysia, where 60 percent of the 28 million-strong population is Muslim, also voiced concern about the move. Syrian refugees were indefinitely banned, while refugees from the other six countries faced a three-month hold.