Global trade dependence on Asia, including China, remains stable, and the country will never lose its status as the world’s most important manufacturing hub, despite certain US moves that have been disrupting global industrial and supply chains, said senior industry experts and company executives at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 on Tuesday.
Their comments emerged after a report published at the forum on Tuesday said global dependence on Asian trade in goods remained stable, and the trade dependence among Asian economies, including China, remained at a relatively high level.
The highest level of dependence — 21 percent — was found among ASEAN countries. Japan and South Korea’s dependence on China was over 20 percent, and the dependence of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and CPTPP countries on China was close to 20 percent, the report said, based on data till 2021.
The CPTPP refers to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement among Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Among the G20 economies, most saw their trade dependence on China rise between 2017 and 2021, with only the United States and France seeing a decline in their trade dependence on China, the report said.
“It is actually good for China
that some labor-intensive industries would move away, as it would help the country’s industries to upgrade to a higher level,” said Yao Yang, dean of the National School of Development at Peking University.
Yao said China will not likely lose its status as the world’s largest manufacturing hub for at least 10 to 20 years.
“With some labor-intensive industries shifting to some ASEAN economies and developing countries, it is geopolitically beneficial for China as a whole, as these economies are more integrated into China’s manufacturing ecosystem.”
Source: China Daily
