
Fulltext download: Asia Insights 07
The Clash of Giants:
A Divided APEC of 2018 and Incoming Regional Economic (Dis)order
Chia-Chien Chan (Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, National Chengchi University, Taiwan)
Established in 1989, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) used to be considered one of the most important forums for leaders in the Pacific Rim to facilitate trade and investment liberalization. Consisting of 21 economies that account for 47% of global trade and 60% of world GDP,1 the APEC is noted for its non-binding, consensus-based, inclusive and voluntary approach to decision-making. It successfully nurtured political commitment to economic cooperation among such a huge and diverse group of members only until 2018, the year before the APEC’s 30th anniversary. For the first time since its inception, the 21 APEC members were unable to issue a joint communiqué this year. As the host country’s leader and chair of the 2018 APEC summit, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill offered his….(for fulltext, please download AI-07)
Dr. Chia-Chien Chang is a Non-Resident Fellow of Center for Southeast Asian Studies, National Chengchi University, Taiwan. He can be reached via: changchiachien@dragon.nchu.edu.tw