‘Act now to boost trade or there won’t be another Asian miracle’

JAKARTA, Indonesia (MNTV) – In a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, Asia’s rise as the world’s economic powerhouse could stall unless countries in the region deepen regional cooperation, and invest in sustainable cities, experts have warned.

Individual Asian nations cannot compete head-to-head with the United States or other global powers, said speakers at a forum held in Jakarta. Instead, the countries must act collectively through intra-regional trade, supply chains and technology sharing, said speakers at a panel discussion titled “Shaping the Future: Asia’s Evolving Role,” reports ANN.

The US tariff policy is “a wake-up call” for Asia, said former Indonesian finance minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, one of the panellists. “In the past, we might not have thought about Asia trade, financial or economic integration because relationships between each Asian country and counterparts in Europe, North America, or elsewhere might have no issue. But now the US, the biggest market, is protecting itself. We must find solutions by looking back at what we have,” he said.

US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on countries worldwide ,with Asian nations hit unevenly – ranging from a 10% baseline tariff on goods from Singapore to up to 50% on certain imports from India.

The panel discussion was part of AsiaXchange 2025, a three-day conference from Oct 6 to 8 organised by The Rockefeller Foundation to bring together policymakers, business executives, philanthropists, multilateral institutions and community leaders to discuss ways to help underserved communities in Asia.

Amitabh Kant, former G-20 Sherpa of India, put things in perspective by noting that the US accounts for only 14% of global trade. “Therefore, it is essential for large Asian economies – China, India, Korea, Japan, Indonesia – to work together to drive trade,” he said.

China “has driven manufacturing in a very big way”, particularly in green growth, he said, and has become the centre of solar manufacturing, battery manufacturing and critical minerals. India has in turn been a driver of services, he added.

Kant urged Asian countries to drive investments in each other and “learn from each other in technology to leapfrog”.

He noted that for the seventh consecutive year, Singapore is the biggest driver of foreign direct investment in India, surpassing Europe and the US. “Fifty percent of Asia is still to be built. That is the opportunity. We need sustainable urbanisation. Urbanisation drives growth, innovation, development, and new science and technology,” he said.

Despite Asia’s size and diversity, trade within Asean has declined in recent years, Professor Bambang observed, highlighting the need for stronger regional integration.

“One motivation should be building supply chains or value chains within Asia, starting with Asean, connecting with South Asia, East Asia, and other parts of Asia. Some advanced Asian economies like Japan and Korea are trying to build supply chains with middle-income parts of Asia, but it is not enough,” he said.

Structural reforms and cooperation will also be vital to help countries avoid the middle-income trap, he said, adding: “We are in danger of facing the middle-income trap, especially for Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.”

Prof Bambang, dean and chief executive of the Asian Development Bank Institute, pointed to Europe’s experience as a model for deeper integration. Citing the World Development Report 2024: The Middle-Income Trap, he noted that most new entrants to high-income status hail from Eastern Europe, not Asia.

“Eastern European countries learnt about market economies in the 1990s, and 20 to 30 years later, they are high-income. Asia adopted market economies earlier, but we have not achieved similar integration,” he said.

Warning that Asia’s demographic dividend is declining, he said: “We must act, or we cannot see another Asian miracle like in the 1990s. This is important for Asean’s internal development and global competitiveness.”