China News Service, Boao, March 29th: How can Asia continue to serve as the "locomotive" of world economic growth?
Author Yin Qianyun
Against the background of the slowdown in global economic recovery, Asia remains the "locomotive" and power source of world economic growth.
The "2024 Annual Report on Asian Economic Prospects and Integration Process" released by the Boao Forum for Asia 2024 Annual Conference stated that Asia's economic growth rate is expected to reach 4.5% in 2024. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) outlook shows that Asia is expected to contribute two-thirds of global economic growth in 2024.
How to better build Asia into the world's economic growth center has become the focus of the forum's guests.
Create regional integration
"Integration can further disperse risks and enhance resistance to external shocks." Desteli Damayanti, senior deputy governor of the Central Bank of Indonesia, pointed out that the uncertainty of global development requires the Asian region to integrate and cooperate. To enable economies to support each other.
Improving regional economic integration requires a rules-based free trade system. A series of free trade agreements represented by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an important mechanism to promote integration.
As of January 1, 2024, RCEP has been in effect for two years. For more than two years, this agreement has continued to deliver growth dividends. Participants believed that in the context of sluggish world economic growth and intensifying trade fragmentation, RCEP has provided impetus for Asia to maintain its position as the world's growth engine.
Currently, RCEP is still in its early development stage. Chi Fulin, director of the China (Hainan) Reform and Development Institute, mentioned that in the future, RCEP can further improve the utilization rate of rules and actively coordinate expansion to promote the cooperation process.
Singapore's Minister of Sustainable Development and Environment Fu Haiyan mentioned that the current innovation vitality in Asia is very strong. To further transform innovation into business and market success, stronger integration is needed to ensure that countries respect trade rules more and reduce trade frictions. , bringing in more investment, thereby building a larger market.
"This is the 'golden age' of Asia's development," Chi Fulin said. Promoting Asia's economic integration process is the primary task of achieving Asia's economic growth.
Strengthen development resilience
Facing many uncertainties in the external environment, economic "resilience" has become the core of sustainable growth. Yoshiko Shimizu, executive director of the Bank of Japan, pointed out that the attractiveness of the Asian economy lies in its resilience.
Gao Jinhong, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, mentioned that he has communicated with investors from many countries and they all hope to increase investment in ASEAN because they believe in the stability and resilience of ASEAN’s economic fundamentals and that the external investment absorbed by ASEAN is also growing.
Economic development in Asia relies on trade exchanges, so it is even more important to ensure the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain. Yang Byung-nai, Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea, mentioned that Asian countries should make concerted efforts to establish new value chains and avoid the "fragmentation" of industrial and supply chains.
In addition, regional financial stability also directly affects the resilience of various economies. To this end, the Asian region is accelerating financial infrastructure interconnection.
Eddie Yue, President of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said that intra-regional connectivity can not only improve trade and investment efficiency, but also contribute to exchange rate stability. To promote interconnection among Asian economies, facilitation measures such as fast payment systems and QR code scanning payments should be optimized, and the application of central bank digital currencies in cross-border transactions should be explored.
If you want to strengthen your own resilience, you also need to have the ability to make your own rules. Yang Bingnai mentioned that currently most Asia is just a follower in formulating international rules. If Asia can come up with its own solutions to international issues such as climate change, population aging and the service industry, "Asia can become a true global economic growth center." (over)