The APEC Summit was recently concluded without any form a joint statement from the member countries due to conflict of opinion between US led countries and China led camp of countries.

Do you know?

• About APEC: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific.
• Purpose: It aims to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration.
• APEC Functioning: APEC ensures that goods, services, investment and people move easilyacross borders. Members facilitate this trade through faster customs procedures at borders; more favorable business climates behind the border; and aligning regulations and standards across the region.APEC’s initiative to synchronize regulatory systems is a key step to integrating the Asia- Pacific economy.

US-China rivalry in APEC:

• The on-going global trade war between China & US has split the APEC member countries between American and Chinese camps.
• US has accused China of using unfair trade practices and has been pressuring China to improve access to its markets, grant IPR to American companies, cut back on industrial subsides and reduce the American trade deficit with China.
• China intends for greater role of BRI among APEC member countries which is not supported by US and has opposed the protectionist measures undertaken by US and its imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports.
• Impacts of US-China rivalry
• If this continues, eventually global supply chains may be hit, and shrinking trade volumes may cause companies to seek out new trading routes and partners.
• Institutionally, multilateral rule-making bodies such as the WTO may lose their authority, and an interlocking system of bilateral trade treaties and punitive sanctions networks may substitute the consensus-based approach that was forged so painstakingly after World War II.
• Asia will be at the heart of this war of attrition because strategic control of its high-value maritime trading routes is the key to China’s dreams of global trade dominance.
• Conclusion
• After the APEC summit the world is still poised on the edge of the trade war vortex. The forthcoming G20 meeting in Argentina offers an opportunity to pull back from the brink.