Asia’s future in a challenging world
Beijing—With each coming of spring comes the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), held in China’s island province of Hainan. This year’s theme, “Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Shared Responsibilities,” is a highly relevant one.
Throughout the world, there is no shortage of challenges: geopolitical conflicts, a sluggish global economy, lackluster trade, not to mention emerging risks from artificial intelligence, and the existential threat of climate change. But if one takes a closer look, region by region, the picture is not all gloom and doom. Asia stands out as a bright spot. This part of the world has enjoyed robust growth for decades and continues to serve as a primary engine for the global economy. It has also avoided major conflicts in recent memory, despite a multitude of contentious issues.
Data from the McKinsey Global Institute show that Asia is now a prominent player in world order, technology platforms, demographic forces, resource and energy systems, and capitalization. The entire region is set to grow at a rate of 4.5 percent in 2024, much higher than the expected global growth, according to an International Monetary Fund forecast.
What is the secret behind the region’s success story? Perhaps it has a lot to do with the distinctly Asian way of doing things. It is a way of respecting each other, building consensus, and accommodating the comfort levels of all parties. It is a way of advocating good neighborliness and friendship, collectively maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for development. It is a way of jointly practicing open regionalism, further liberalizing and facilitating trade and investment, while opposing trade protectionism, decoupling or cutting supply chains.
Simply put, the Asian way is a collaborative approach deeply rooted in an oriental philosophy that values peace and harmony, and focuses on building consensus and promoting development. And much has been achieved this way. Numerous railroads, bridges, and factories stand as a strong testament to what can be achieved when everyone pitches in. From the Asean Highway Network and Asean Power Grid under the Master Plan on Asean Connectivity 2025, to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Asian countries are synergizing their development strategies to create greater, collective strength for growth. BRI projects like the China-Laos Railway, Port City Colombo and Hambantota International Port in Sri Lanka, and the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail in Indonesia have not only created local jobs and revenue, but also given a strong boost to regional connectivity.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership put in place in 2022 is the world’s largest free trade agreement. It has been instrumental in consolidating Asia’s position as the world’s manufacturing and trade hub. The Global Development Initiative provides Asian countries with another important platform for development cooperation in areas such as poverty reduction, human resource training, industrialization, the digital economy, and green development, all critical to economic development in the 21st century.
In a world fraught with challenges, decoupling and fragmentation are pulling countries apart, making it increasingly difficult to form a synergy. Yet what has happened in recent years—despite the pandemic, repercussions from the Ukraine crisis, or the conflict in Gaza—has time and again proven that the whole of humanity is closely intertwined and shares the same future. The more difficult the going gets, the greater the need for countries to stay together, show solidarity, and coordinate with one another.
In this lies the future of the world; in this lies the future of Asia. It is critical that Asian countries maintain the Asian way, enhance solidarity and cooperation, and together build a home of peace and strong growth. In so doing, Asia will be able to bring greater certainty to the fluid global environment and inject strong dynamism into the global economy. And at a time of turbulence and change, the Asian way may also prove useful in solving intractable problems in other parts of the world. Having said that, hopefully, more Asian wisdom will come out of this year’s BFA to help find solutions to common challenges in both Asia and the world.