Asia’s future in a challenging world

By Yi Xin

Every year,with the coming of spring opens the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in China’s island province Hainan. The theme for this year, “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, lacklustre trade...not to mention emerging risks from artificial intelligence and the existential threat from climate change.

But if one takes a closer look region by region, the picture is not all doom and gloom. 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 driving the global economy. It has also avoided major conflicts in recent memory despite having a multitude of hotspot issues.

Data from 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 4.5 per cent in 2024, much higher than the expected global growth, according to an IMF forecast.
What is the secret behind this success story? Perhaps it has a lot to do with the distinctive 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 neighbourliness and friendship, and jointly maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for development.

It is a way to jointly practice open regionalism, further liberalize and facilitate trade and investment, and oppose trade protectionism, decoupling or cutting supply chains.
Simply put, the Asian way is a collaborative approach deeply rooted in the oriental philosophy that values peace and harmony and focuses on building consensus and promoting development.

And much has been achieved in 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 for ASEAN Connectivity 2025 to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Asian countries are synergizing their development strategies to create greater, collective strengths for growth.
BRI projects like China-Laos Railway, the Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, and the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia have not only created local jobs and revenue but also given a strong boost to regional connectivity.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) entered into force in 2022 as 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 (GDI) provides Asian countries with another important platform for development cooperation in areas such as poverty reduction, human resource training, industrialization, 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 synergy.

Yet what happened over the past years, whether it’s the pandemic, the repercussions from the Ukraine crisis or the conflict in Gaza, has time and again proven that the entire humanity is closely intertwined and shares the same future.

The more difficult the going gets, the greater the need for countries to stay together, to show solidarity and to 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 keep up with the Asian way, enhance solidarity and cooperation, and jointly build a home of peace and strong growth. 

The author is a Beijing-based observer of international affairs.
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.

In this connection, hopefully, more Asian wisdom will come out of this year’s BFA discussions to help find solutions to common challenges in Asia and the world.