Illustration: Liu Xidan/GT

Focusing on the regional macroeconomic situation and key issues of financial cooperation, the ASEAN+3 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting was held on Wednesday, according to a statement published on the website of China's Ministry of Finance. 

Participants reviewed the arrangements related to the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), and the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI).

Amid rising global uncertainty and multiple pressures on regional economies, the meeting not only reaffirmed the cooperative foundation of the ASEAN+3 mechanism but also sent a clear signal: In the face of intensifying external headwinds, all parties need to push cooperation and exchanges further with a greater sense of urgency if they are to firmly seize the initiative for development amid such profound changes.

Since its establishment, the ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea (10+3) cooperation mechanism has continuously strengthened its crisis response capabilities, promoted the process of economic integration, and worked together to build the momentum of new growth drivers. Remarkable achievements have been made across various fields, helping East Asia become one of the most dynamic regions in the world.

Relying on institutional opening-up arrangements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation within the region has continued to rise. The flows of goods, technology, people and other factors have become smoother, industrial and supply chains have become deeply intertwined, and a closely connected community of shared interests has taken shape. The steady progress of various institutional mechanisms, including in the financial field, has also provided important support for the region to withstand external shocks.

According to AMRO's latest report, ASEAN+3 has become more regionally anchored over the past two decades, with denser and more interconnected production networks and a decisive shift toward intraregional sources of demand. The share of the region's value-added exports to the US has declined from about one-third to 20 percent, while the share absorbed within the region has risen to nearly 30 percent. This structural change profoundly reflects the trend of the East Asian economy shifting from external dependence toward regional demand-driven growth, which also means that intraregional cooperation and coordination are becoming more and more crucial.

At this critical transformation juncture, strengthening all-round exchanges and cooperation within the region is not only a practical need to stabilize the existing industrial and supply chains but also an inevitable requirement to promote industrial upgrading and cultivate new growth drivers. Whether it is unblocking trade channels, optimizing the investment environment, promoting the coordinated development of emerging fields such as the digital economy and the green economy, or jointly responding to challenges such as inflationary pressures and fluctuations in external demand, it is inseparable from close communication and coordinated efforts among all countries. Only through continuous deepening of cooperation can we release cooperation dividends, and enhance the overall risk resistance capacity of the region.

For instance, the implementation of the RCEP has significantly reduced barriers to the flow of goods and services, and the key next step is how to carry out closer coordination and planning around the restructuring of the global industrial chain. In response to the investment transfer trend brought about by industrial chain adjustments, ASEAN+3 economies need to strengthen dialogue and coordination on investment policies within the framework, avoid vicious competition, and help form a more resilient and competitive regional industrial ecosystem.

In addition to industrial coordination, financial cooperation, as an important pillar of regional cooperation, also needs continuous upgrading to adapt to the development needs under the new situation.

The experience of the past few decades has proved that openness, inclusiveness and pragmatic cooperation are effective approaches to respond to crises. Today, standing at the critical crossroads of industrial chain restructuring, all parties in ASEAN+3 need to deepen exchanges and cooperation across various dimensions, enabling East Asia to remain a stable anchor and a driving force for world economic growth.