Xinhua, Manila :
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will play even more important role in ensuring a free and open world trading system amid clearer and more worrying signs of growing global protectionism, an expert of Asian Development Bank (ABD) who specializes in trade and regional cooperation has said.
“APEC has now become the benchmark for regional grouping seeking to pursue ‘open regionalism’,” said Jayant Menon, lead economist of ADB in a recent interview with Xinhua, ahead of the 25th APEC summit to be held in Da Nang, Vietnam on Nov. 10-11.
“At a time when there appears to be a backlash against globalization, with rising protectionism pressures throughout the world, institutions such as World Trade Organization and APEC have an even more important role to play in ensuring the world trading system remains free and open,” Menon said.
He said these institutions “can lock in the gains that have been made in liberalizing trade, through their commitment to non-discrimination.”
Established in 1989, APEC is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim economies promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth by accelerating regional economic integration throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Most members of APEC are also members of ADB.
In a study titled “the Asian Economic Integration Report 2017,” the Manila-based bank examines recent regional integration trends and says that growing trade and investment linkages in Asia and the Pacific help improve the region’s economic resilience to uncertainties in the global economic and trade policy environment.
With the demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Menon said attention has now shifted to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement that the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) .
and its six dialogue partners are hoping to establish in the next couple of years.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand being its dialogue partners.
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will play even more important role in ensuring a free and open world trading system amid clearer and more worrying signs of growing global protectionism, an expert of Asian Development Bank (ABD) who specializes in trade and regional cooperation has said.
“APEC has now become the benchmark for regional grouping seeking to pursue ‘open regionalism’,” said Jayant Menon, lead economist of ADB in a recent interview with Xinhua, ahead of the 25th APEC summit to be held in Da Nang, Vietnam on Nov. 10-11.
“At a time when there appears to be a backlash against globalization, with rising protectionism pressures throughout the world, institutions such as World Trade Organization and APEC have an even more important role to play in ensuring the world trading system remains free and open,” Menon said.
He said these institutions “can lock in the gains that have been made in liberalizing trade, through their commitment to non-discrimination.”
Established in 1989, APEC is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim economies promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth by accelerating regional economic integration throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Most members of APEC are also members of ADB.
In a study titled “the Asian Economic Integration Report 2017,” the Manila-based bank examines recent regional integration trends and says that growing trade and investment linkages in Asia and the Pacific help improve the region’s economic resilience to uncertainties in the global economic and trade policy environment.
With the demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Menon said attention has now shifted to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement that the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) .
and its six dialogue partners are hoping to establish in the next couple of years.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand being its dialogue partners.
