China News Agency, Bangkok, December 22 (Reporter Wang Guoan) The "Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Trends Briefing" released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on the 22nd stated that due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic and increased trade tensions, the world The economy is slowing, and global trade is expected to drop by 14.5% in 2020, but the Asia-Pacific region is performing better than the rest of the world.

　　The report pointed out that in 2020, the Asia-Pacific region will play a more prominent role in global trade, with total exports accounting for 41.8% of the world's total and imports accounting for 38.2%.

By 2021, global merchandise trade is expected to rebound.

　　However, the report warns that factors such as high unemployment, deflation, debt problems, and geopolitical tensions will be structural factors that hinder the economic recovery of many Asia-Pacific economies and restrict economic development at the macro level.

For small economies in the region, the huge impact on the tourism industry has caused potential permanent damage, which will pose a challenge to the overall economic recovery.

The above pressures indicate a slow economic recovery in 2021.

　　The Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Amida Alis Shabana, said that the new crown pneumonia epidemic has had a huge impact on the economies of both developed and developing countries, and may cause millions of people to fall back into poverty and unemployment.

She called on Asia-Pacific countries to work hard to formulate a set of better trade rules, to be more resilient in times of crisis, and to promote inclusive and green sustainable economic recovery.

　　The report said that the epidemic has had a serious impact on transnational direct investment. This can be seen from the published data for the first three quarters of this year. It is expected that transnational direct investment will still be difficult to return to the level before the epidemic next year.

　　The report believes that the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" signed by many countries in the Asia-Pacific region may help the recovery of transnational direct investment during the economic recovery period, especially for small and medium-sized countries and the least developed countries in the region.

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