Nov 19, 2022
APEC 2022 Summit opened to a new theme of “Open, Connect, Balance”. (Graph above).
President Xi Jinping of PRC spoke in its Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Nov 18. Prof. Dr.Tang Zhimin, Director of CASPIM, offered his readings on his remark in an interview with the Xinhua News:
APEC is a regional economic forum established in 1989 with 21 economies on both sides of the Pacific, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines,Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. As a group, APEC makes up 38% of the global population, 62% of GDP and 48% of trade.
“The Asia-Pacific is our home as well as the powerhouse of global economic growth”.
President Xi depicted his vision of “Asia-Pacific Community with a Shared Future” for APEC members. Reflecting the theme of “Open, Connect, Balance” of this Summit, his vision may be interpreted as “Open not Close”, “Connect not Decouple” and “Balance not Bias”.
Open not Close: True multilateralism is not an option but a necessity. One should not keeps his trap shut with stereotypes of ideology, political system and development path. In this respect, the ASEAN way to reach consensus among members is exemplary.
Connect not Decouple: In today’s world, innovation and prosperity live on free flow of ideas, people, goods and service, as well as other factors of production. Decoupling with China and disrupting the global supply chain is not only unfeasible but rather harmful. For free trade and investment facilitation, APEC countries should consolidate and integrate various bilateral and multilateral frameworks such as World Trade Organization (WTO), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), and work towards an early realization of a high-standard Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).
Balance not Bias: China is exploring a balanced model of modernization featuring common prosperity and harmonious coexistence between human and nature. From the experience of China and Thailand, linking farmers and SMEs to the world market through digital infrastructure is a good solution for inclusive development and to distribute the benefits of globalization to a larger population in the society.