Closer East Asia ties provide world with more certainty

Will East Asia be a stabilizing anchor of the turbulent world economy? This question is once again in the spotlight.

Widely projected to be the first region to see post-pandemic economic recovery, a closely-knit East Asia, home to dense global supply-chain networks and a major humming economic engine, is expected to bring much-needed certainty to the world.

As a series of virtual meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan and the Republic of Korea leaders started Thursday, cooperation in various fields will see further progress.

The pandemic situation has largely stabilized in East Asia and is turning for the better. Closer cooperation in areas such as public health, trade and digital economy can offset the COVID-19 impact and reboot growth.

Since the virus outbreak, China and other countries in the region have maintained close high-level contact. The virtual meetings of the leaders have pledged a series of efforts in coordinating the pandemic response.

Economically, China's trade with ASEAN in the first three quarters of the year reached 481.8 billion U.S. dollars as the 10-Southeast Asian-nation bloc became China's biggest trading partner amid upgraded free trade area protocol and supply chain cooperation. Further economic integration is in the interest of all stakeholders and can be a shot in the arm for the flagging world economy.

All of these will help stabilize regional production and supply chains, cultivate new growth models and business patterns, and thus inject stronger momentum in the economic growth of the region and the world as a whole.

China's position on regional cooperation has always been clear and consistent. It supports ASEAN's efforts in strengthening its centrality in regional cooperation as well as its greater role in building an open and inclusive regional architecture.

Together, China and regional countries will usher in brighter future for their partnership and contribute more to the world's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.