Rolando Dy, an economist at the Manila-based University of Asia and the Pacific, said that how to mitigate the impact of the global downturn will be one of the most important topics to be discussed in the series of regional meetings in Pattaya of Thailand.
The 14th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits will be held on April 10 to 12 in Pattaya, bringing together leaders from ASEAN, China, Japan, and Republic of Korea among other dialogue partners.
"If you want to pump up the ASEAN + 3 (China, Japan and South Korea) cooperation, you must start with opening up markets so that goods can be freely traded," Dy said, adding that it's really important for countries not to impose protectionist barriers as there's a need to push up demand in the region to offset the waning consumption in the United STates and Western Europe.
Earlier, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also warned against protectionism between developing Asian countries amid slumping external demand.
"The political temptation to erect trade barriers to protect domestic firms and jobs is understandable in light of the severe global downturn," the bank said in a report, adding that such measures can be self-defeating and the countries that resort to protectionism will likely see their economic growth suffer.
Notably, the export-dependent Southeast Asian countries would be the most affected by protectionism, ADB economists said.
In an interview with Xinhua, Dy said that China, with its huge market, should lead the way in further liberalizing trade in the East Asian region. With a population of 1.3 billion, China has become a magnet for exporters with its great potential market. The Chinese government has unveiled a 4-trillion-yuan (586 billion US dollars) stimulus plan, poised to re-balance the economy by strengthening its domestic demand.
The country has overtaken Germany to become the world's third- largest economy, only ranking after the Unites States and Japan. The rising importance of China as an economic powerhouse means that it should take a more active role in leading major initiatives in the regional dialogues, analysts said.
"ASEAN countries will be looking to China, and also Japan and South Korean as they're the economic dynamos in the region, " said Ernesto Pernia, a professor of economics at the University of the Philippines.
These economic giants will lead the way in how to address several issues that confront the region, including the financial crisis and trade regulations among others, he said.
Earlier, China's first ambassador to the ASEAN Xue Hanqin has told Xinhua that China and the ASEAN would ink an investment deal on the upcoming summit, which marks the conclusion of China-ASEAN free-trade agreement negotiation. she also said that a free trade area is scheduled to be set up by the year of 2010.
The ASEAN, founded in 1967, groups 10 members of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
We all know that opportunities and challenges are coming together. But in this financial crisis, China should concentrates on its own problem, such as 20million unemployed workers, disappointed folks, corrupted government officials, instead of jumping on the opportunity of being an useless leader. If China can't make its own people happy, Chinese will not support their government's ambition--such as being the leader of Asian regional trade liberalization.