SINGAPORE, March 30\u00a0(NNN-Bernama) —\u00a0ASEAN and China must mitigate four risks moving forward to unlock further gains in their relationship, said Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at the China Conference: Southeast Asia, an annual flagship conference organised by the South China Morning Post<\/em> on Wednesday, the minister said the risks included \u201ca slowdown in China\u2019s economic growth and the contagion risk of potential global banking\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe days of high single-digit or double-digit growth, which saw China powering the global economy out of the global financial crisis in 2008\/2009, may well be over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUneven recovery in the sectors post-pandemic, coupled with existing difficulties in the real estate sector as well as structural issues such as the challenges of an ageing population may continue to stifle its growth outlook, which is projected to be at 5.0 per cent this year, and moderating to below 5.0 per cent for the next decade,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tengku Zafrul pointed out that a slower-growing China would have profound implications for its trading partners like ASEAN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said China-ASEAN bilateral trade bucked the negative trend caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, jumping to US$975.3 billion in 2022 from US$641.5 billion in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turning to the contagion risk of a potential global banking crisis, Tengku Zafrul said the global banking system is currently reeling from a series of shocks over the past week, prompted by the collapse of California\u2019s Silicon Valley Bank and the blows suffered by Credit Suisse in Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFears of another banking crisis looms, confronting central banks with even more dilemmas as they try to fight inflation while ensuring financial stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile a full-blown meltdown like that of 2008 may well be avoided given that banks are in a better shape now than they were then, there remains contagion risk which may hamper global economic growth, including in Asia as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a former banker, we know that banks are built on trust, and therefore it is important for banks now to rebuild and replenish their trust capital to ensure stability in the global banking ecosystem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the other two risks would be the escalation of a trade war between the US and China and increased geopolitical tension in East Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Against this backdrop, Tengku Zafrul said ASEAN countries must work together to reposition themselves as stable, investor friendly, committed to environmental, social and corporate governance, and a competitive economic force in Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe must be able to spot trends and benefit from them. Whether we do it together as ASEAN or bilaterally depends on our strategic interests, but rest assured we will, and we must manage these risks and prepare ourselves for the challenges of the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To that end, Tengku Zafrul said ASEAN should prioritise these issues moving forward and work together to boost ex- and intra-ASEAN trade growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis includes implementing multilateral trade pacts and frameworks like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), removing impediments to trade and encouraging digital trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe also need to identify key growth areas that need to be nurtured and ensure that our small and medium enterprises benefit from the growth in trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn this score, we also need to leverage each other\u2019s key strengths,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tengku Zafrul noted that China had witnessed a year-on-year trade increase of 15 per cent with ASEAN in 2022, the first year RCEP went into effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The minister hoped that ASEAN and China\u2019s relationship must always be premised upon mutual trust and respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe fervently hope that any potential feud of the great powers will not spill over into our borders. But we appreciate their presence in and commitment to our region, especially in business, investment and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is our earnest hope that Southeast Asia can remain a zone of minimal conflict and one that supports global cooperation, prosperity and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am optimistic that, considering the vast untapped economic opportunities in Asia, ties between ASEAN and China will grow from strength to strength,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n — NNN-BERNAMA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SINGAPORE, March 30\u00a0(NNN-Bernama) —\u00a0ASEAN and China must mitigate four risks moving forward to unlock further gains in their relationship, said Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz. Speaking at the China Conference: Southeast Asia, an annual flagship conference organised by the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, the minister said the risks included […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":175390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[215,288,300,318],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216517"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=216517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216518,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216517\/revisions\/216518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/175390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=216517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=216517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=216517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}