State of the Region 2017-2018

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Asia-Pacific economy is expected to grow by 3.6 percent in 2017 and 2018. This is a significant improvement from last year when growth was at around 3.2 percent. Much of this improvement comes from faster than expected growth in the region’s largest economies: the United States, China and Japan. However, underlying the upbeat forecast, there remain important structural concerns about the nature of growth in the region: high levels of debt; the impact of rising interest rates on the ability of the individuals and the corporate sector to service that debt; slowing trade and its ability to act as a driver of growth; and the impact of the digital economy.

According to PECC’s annual survey, the top-5 risks to growth were:

• Increased protectionism
• Lack of political leadership
• A slowdown in the Chinese economy
• Possible slowdown in world trade growth
• Failure to implement structural reforms.

Over 44 percent of respondents selected increased protectionism as a top ...

CNCPEC: 13th General Meeting | Beijing, China | December 21, 2017

China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (CNCPEC) held its 13th General Meeting in Beijing on December 21, 2017. Over 100 CNCPEC members and special guests attended the meeting. Mr. Huang Mengfu, Honorary Chair of CNCPEC and Vice Chair of the 10th and 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Mr. Wang Chao, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister made keynote speeches as guests of honor, in which they highly commended CNCPEC’s great achievements for the past five years and placed high hopes for its future work.

Amb. Su Ge, Chair of CNCPEC, made a report on CNCPEC’s work for the past five years and its work plan in the next five years. The Meeting ratified the work report and the amendment of CNCPEC’s Charter. It also elected around 50 new members of CNCPEC’s 13th Council (formerly known as Standing Committee).

On the same day following the General Meeting, the first session of CNCPEC’s 13th Council Meeting was held in Beij...

APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on the Digital Economy | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | March 7, 2018

Building on the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap

APEC officials and experts gathered in Port Moresby for a High Level Policy Dialogue on the Digital Economy. The objective of the session was to discuss how to build on the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap adopted by APEC in 2017. Mr Eduardo Pedrosa, Secretary General of the PECC International Secretariat moderated keynote addresses from: Professor Peter Cowhey, Dean and Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Communications and Technology Policy, University of California, San Diego; Mr. Douveri Henao, Executive Director, Business Council of Papua New Guinea; and Mr. Tobias Feakin, Ambassador for Cyber Affairs, Australia.

The digital economy and the policies needed to facilitate its growth are coming into sharper focus, as last year’s report on the State of the Region noted “The extent to which this transformation is taking place is leading some to conclude that the digital economy is not only the future of our economy, it is the e...

MANCPEC: 2nd Meeting on APEC Beyond 2020 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | September 15, 2017

The second Malaysia National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (MANCPEC) meeting on APEC Beyond 2020 was held on Friday, 15 September 2017, at Boardroom, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The meeting was attended by 10 MANCPEC members and chaired by Dato’ Steven CM Wong, Deputy Chief Executive, ISIS Malaysia.

The main purpose of the meeting was to deliberate the ongoing PECC Signature Project on APEC Beyond 2020 agenda. The meeting also briefed MANCPEC members on the latest updates regarding the APEC Beyond 2020 questionnaire. To this end, MANCPEC members kindly agreed to disseminate the questionnaire to their respective and relevant contacts. The meeting also discussed the need for better communication among MANCPEC members to ease coordination of MANCPEC and PECC initiatives.

Download program agenda

Sustainable Development and Circular Economy (Seminar 2): Sustainable & Responsible Tourism | Papeete, French Polynesia | November 20-21, 2017

The United Nations has named 2017 the “International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.” More than one billion international tourists are traveling around the world each year and this number is expected to increase significantly by 2020, driven largely by China’s growing middle class as well as the cruise industry. The tourism sector for many economies is growing at exponential rates and represents substantial economic value for a many of Asia-Pacific economies.

The tourism industry has become a major source of revenue for many of the region’s economies but also has become an increasing concern regarding environmental protection. Given the growing number of visitors and the infrastructure expansion necessary to support these tourists, many of the attractive and valuable environmental/ cultural features are at risk. Over time, without proper planning and education, these tangible and intangible assets may become degraded, losing their original form, causing the tourism indust...