CHINA
16 September 2014
PECC comes to Beijing
PECC, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, will be coming to Beijing this week for its annual summit. The timing could not be better.
PECC, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, will be coming to Beijing this week for its annual summit. The timing could not be better.
PECC spurned APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) which this year marks its 25th anniversary. This year is also the 20th anniversary of APEC's Bogor Goals for free and open trade and investment in the Asia Pacific. And while these lofty aspirations may not yet have been fully realised, trade and investment has been the key driver of the region's stunning development.
This year's PECC summit will, as always, provide critical support for the APEC process, whose culmination will be the APEC summit later this year in Beijing. It will also be a good opportunity to look at China’s economic development and its economic policy orientation.
The conference will conclude with a reflection on PECC's raison d'etre, "regional cooperation". As Western economies seem to have entered into a period of "secular stagnation", the need for better regional integration is ever more important. But East Asia is currently threatened by tensions and fragmentation.
The Chinese team includes: Tang Guoqiang, Chair, China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation; Huang Mengfu, Former Vice Chair, National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative; Chen Yuan, Vice Chair, National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; and Wang Shouwen, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Commerce, People’s Republic of China.
The US will be represented by: Charles Morrison, President, East West Center; and Peter Petri, Professor, Brandeis University. From Japan there will be: Yoshiji Nogami, President, Japan Institute of International Affairs; and Naoyuki Yoshino, Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute. From Indonesia: Jusuf Wanandi, PECC Co-Chair; and Djisman Simanjuntak of CSIS Foundation. From Malaysia: Tan Sri Rastam bin Mohd. Isa of Institute of Strategic and International Studies. From Korea: Il Houng Lee, President, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
From Canada: Donald Campbell, PECC Co-Chair; and Wendy Dobson of University of Toronto. And from Australia: Ian Buchanan of Strategy&; Christopher Findlay of the University of Adelaide; Allan Gyngell of AUSPECC; and Kenneth Waller of the Australian APEC Study Centre.
New economic strategies are imperative, following the global financial crisis. In particular, deeper regional cooperation is necessary as a new driver of growth, and for this new trade and investment liberalisation is crucial.
And for various reasons, the region is bristling with tensions both within and between countries.
The complexity of all these issues means that PECC's tripartite, multi-stakeholder approach is the best formula for harnessing the region's best ideas, diffusing tensions, building trust and confidence, and improving mutual understanding.
Don't forget to follow our reports this week from PECC in Beijing!
Executive Director
Asian Century Institute
What is PECC?
Way back in 1980, PECC was created to foster tripartite cooperation between business, government, and academic circles of the Asia-Pacific region. PECC thus laid the foundations for the very rich networks of cooperation that have given birth to the Asian Century.PECC spurned APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) which this year marks its 25th anniversary. This year is also the 20th anniversary of APEC's Bogor Goals for free and open trade and investment in the Asia Pacific. And while these lofty aspirations may not yet have been fully realised, trade and investment has been the key driver of the region's stunning development.
This year's PECC summit will, as always, provide critical support for the APEC process, whose culmination will be the APEC summit later this year in Beijing. It will also be a good opportunity to look at China’s economic development and its economic policy orientation.
PECC 2014 agenda
That this moment is a critical juncture for the economies of the Asia Pacific region is evident from the PECC 2014 agenda, which focuses on: the “new normal” of moderate growth and in-depth economic restructuring; the implications of China’s economic reform for the region; new drivers for economic growth and avoiding the middle income trap; urbanisation as an engine for growth and sustainable development; new perspectives on global value chains; energy security, efficiency and sustainability; and Chinese overseas investment and business.The conference will conclude with a reflection on PECC's raison d'etre, "regional cooperation". As Western economies seem to have entered into a period of "secular stagnation", the need for better regional integration is ever more important. But East Asia is currently threatened by tensions and fragmentation.
PECC 2014 personalities
This PECC Summit will bring together a bevy of regional decision-makers, thought-leaders, opinion-shapers and consensus-builders.The Chinese team includes: Tang Guoqiang, Chair, China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation; Huang Mengfu, Former Vice Chair, National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative; Chen Yuan, Vice Chair, National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; and Wang Shouwen, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Commerce, People’s Republic of China.
The US will be represented by: Charles Morrison, President, East West Center; and Peter Petri, Professor, Brandeis University. From Japan there will be: Yoshiji Nogami, President, Japan Institute of International Affairs; and Naoyuki Yoshino, Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute. From Indonesia: Jusuf Wanandi, PECC Co-Chair; and Djisman Simanjuntak of CSIS Foundation. From Malaysia: Tan Sri Rastam bin Mohd. Isa of Institute of Strategic and International Studies. From Korea: Il Houng Lee, President, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
From Canada: Donald Campbell, PECC Co-Chair; and Wendy Dobson of University of Toronto. And from Australia: Ian Buchanan of Strategy&; Christopher Findlay of the University of Adelaide; Allan Gyngell of AUSPECC; and Kenneth Waller of the Australian APEC Study Centre.
PECC's importance and relevance
While some observers are wont to minimise the importance of PECC, the great investment of the Chinese government in this year's PECC summit contradicts such a superficial assessment. Indeed, PECC's value is perhaps greater today than it has ever been, for several reasons.New economic strategies are imperative, following the global financial crisis. In particular, deeper regional cooperation is necessary as a new driver of growth, and for this new trade and investment liberalisation is crucial.
And for various reasons, the region is bristling with tensions both within and between countries.
The complexity of all these issues means that PECC's tripartite, multi-stakeholder approach is the best formula for harnessing the region's best ideas, diffusing tensions, building trust and confidence, and improving mutual understanding.
Don't forget to follow our reports this week from PECC in Beijing!
Author
John WestExecutive Director
Asian Century Institute