APD | There is great hope in the light that China brings to the world

Author: Veronika Saraswati, senior researcher of the China Studies Research Unit at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Indonesia

APEC is a means of meeting countries in Asia and the Pacific for trade consolidation for world economic growth. APEC November 2022 has high significance. Strengthening APEC as a forum for post-pandemic economic recovery so that APEC members 'Return to Trade' to strengthen economic growth due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and face geopolitical challenges. Intere-conomic cooperation is the key to world economic recovery. Trade is the backbone of well-being and one of the keys to world peace. To achieve this goal, APEC must jointly agree to return to the economy issues, for world peace and prosperity.

As a member of APEC, Indonesia is able to strengthen relations with governments and economic officials from other APEC member countries, which can directly promote Indonesia's provincial-level potential to attract foreign investors. It is important for the Indonesian economy to find new sources of growth; should continue structural reforms and build infrastructure and provide subsistence funds to people in need. The Covid-19 pandemic crisis presents a challenge for Indonesia. In the last two years the Indonesian government has struggled to get out of the middle-income trap.

Indonesia expects APEC members to refocus on trade and economic improvement, especially in the Asia Pacific region. One of them is through discussions about the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). Because it has been almost 20 years since the first FTAAP discussion, but there are still differences of views among APEC members in determining the future direction. For this reason, it is important to agree on a common understanding in order to provide broad benefits for the global economy, especially in the midst of the current world economic crisis.

Geopolitical challenges shadow the APEC November 2022 Meeting, as geopolitical factors had a significant impact on global trade supply, commodity prices, and inflation. Important agendas for APEC to discuss are global health, digitalization, and energy transition. These three points are important variables for post-pandemic economic recovery and increasing national and world economic growth.

The value of Indonesia's digital economy currently reaches to USD70 billion and will increase in 2025 almost to USD150 billion. Indonesia leads in ASEAN digitalization, in which it reaches to 40 percent. Digital transformation is a necessity for Indonesia, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Indonesian government will continue to develop this digitalization sector and encourage ASEAN countries to continue in optimizing digitalization. Moreover, Indonesia will also strongly encourage economic integration in the APEC region through digitalization.

The use of fossil energy so far must be replaced with new and renewable energy. However, it needs cooperation from all parties including trading partner countries for the transition to be successful. It is projected that by 2025, the use of new and renewable energy in Indonesia will reach 23%.

Strong health security is the basis of further economic recovery; The capacity of the healthcare industry must be increased. Similarly, the global health architecture needs to be strengthened. Meanwhile, for the discussion of the multilateral trading system, Indonesia emphasized all APEC members to seek the return of the WTO function to benefit from the multilateral trading system.

Differences in political views among APEC member economies need to be addressed wisely., because putting the economic development go beyond the geopolitical issues is the prominent key for pandemic recovery and global trade challenge resolution.

The new Structural Reform Agenda should support post-pandemic economic recovery and encourage reforms focused on inclusive, strong, sustainable, and innovation-friendly growth. APEC's Structural reform agenda includes efforts to improve bureaucratic efficiency, ease of doing business, increase legal certainty, improve the quality of regulation, and other related matters identified as structural barriers.

APEC members also discussed efforts to implement APEC's vision to realize an open, dynamic, resilient, safe, and prosperous region. One of the efforts is through once again discussing the realization of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) with the post-COVID-19 pandemic perspective. Indonesia lauded this strategic step and encouraged a consensus on issues being discussed based on further study, emphasizing flexibility and ensuring the interest of developed and developing economies in an even-handed manner.

Currently, it is necessary to maintain the relevance and integrity of APEC to support the global trading system in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The global trade system is pressured to provide concrete solutions to handle the world's economic problems due to disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges. Equalizing economic recovery efforts due to the pandemic and the multilateral collective step should be noted as world's priorities. Indonesia is ready to continue the APEC's collective step to return the world's trust in the multilateral negotiation system.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a momentum to carry out comprehensive structural reforms for the Indonesian economy which is realized through a greener, smarter, more productive, and equitable economic development roadmap. Sustainable growth is key in economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic and sustainable inclusive growth can be achieved through green economy programs. Indonesia prioritizes environmentally friendly economic development such as hydro power, solar panels, geothermal and 30 percent biodiesel (B30).

Harmonious cooperation and symmetrical partnership are the foundation to create common development, instead of dominative and hegemonic relation. The BRI based on harmonious cooperation and symmetrical partnership does not only benefits the developing and underdeveloped countries in economic sectors but also in wider scope, contribute to recover the world economic downturn as well as reflection for young generations that common development is the only solution for world peace.

China's great achievement in economic and trade sectors, as well as high technology sectors give a huge benefit for not only development in Indonesia but also other country and international community. China is expected to play more active role in leading recovery from recent economic downturn. China gives hand to assist and help other countries, particularly is developing and underdeveloped countries who are suffered with poverty. Those are characteristic of China's foreign policies.

The BRI though initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the benefits of The Initiative will be shared for all the world. BRI provide a strong foundation for developing and underdeveloped countries to remain resilient in the face of the world economic crisis.

Connectivity of infrastructure is priority of the BRI. This priority is really a fundamental need of developing and underdeveloped countries. According to Asian Development Bank, quoted in OECD reports, Asia needs USD 26 trillion in infrastructure investment to 2030, and China can certainly help to provide some of this. Its investments, by building infrastructure, have positive impacts on countries involved.

Based on mutual benefit embedded in the BRI, Indonesia has benefited greatly from BRI to increase its economic growth. China is not only a neighboring country, but also the largest economic and financial partner for Indonesia. According to the 2022 “Belt and Road” Infrastructure Index Country Report on Indonesia found in the International Infrastructural Cooperation Research Report, this investment has tangible spin-offs in the high-speed rail infrastructure sector, steel mill projects, hydroelectric projects, and telecommunications. In addition, this investment has enabled the Indonesian government to set a new development timeline for 2029 for the further implementation of these sectors which will bring new growth to the electricity, telecommunications and digitalization sectors in Indonesia that will accelerate further national economic growth.

History records that China never once colonized another country, instead it advocate diversity, inclusiveness, mutual trust, and symmetrical cooperation and partnership. This China values are derived from Asian traditional wisdom. Indonesia who is not only as China’s neighbor but also China’s important partner in economic and trade, believe and agree these values.

Indonesia and China as a good partner country will hand in hand and support each other to propose this Asian wisdom in addressing global challenges. Asia became a hope in the midst of a major recession that hit Europe and America. Asia must consolidate more closely.

China places other countries as partners to develop together, building respectful and non-dominative economic partnerships being a major force in China's foreign policy principles. In contrast to the perspective of unilateralism that eliminates other countries, China based on the perspective of multilateralism emphasizes respect for other countries as well as fair partnership because no countries can stand alone. Definitely, this principle is 'a candle in the dark' amid world uncertainty and an international economic recession. There is great hope in the light that China brings to the world.

(APD News)