Xinhua News Agency, Sydney, January 15 (Reporter Hao Yalin) Peter Drysdale, director of the Institute of East Asian Economics at Australian National University, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters that if the global trading system does not reform, confidence in open trade will Serious setbacks have affected the recovery of the global economy from the impact of the new crown epidemic, damaging the long-term economic growth potential.
Drysdale said that in the past year, the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and the completion of China-EU investment agreement negotiations marked positive progress in a number of regional or bilateral investment and trade arrangements.
But at the same time, the rise of trade protectionism and unilateralism in some countries has had a devastating impact on the global trading system, which is still in crisis.
He believes that the economic rise of China and East Asia is due to the open, transparent and rules-based global trading system.
Drysdale also said that major global and regional organizations such as the G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation can play an important role in reforming the global trading system and restoring confidence in open trade.
For example, the G20 can set up a special working group that closely interacts with Asian countries to convey high-level commitments to constructive reforms and strengthen long-term global economic recovery.
Regional trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement can also provide opportunities to explore ways to reform.
In addition, he also stated that the digital divide is a major challenge facing economic globalization and continued global prosperity.
Countries should be committed to solving problems related to digital governance and establishing a viable multilateral digital trading system.