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Is resilience enough? US-Southeast Asia deal flows could be the new story of growth
The US-Southeast Asia economic relations are still underutilized—not just in the world but also within the Asia-Pacific.
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Red carpet welcome: Apple CEO Tim Cook (center), accompanied by Communications and Information Minister Budi Arie Setiadi (left) and Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, waves to journalists on April 17, 2024 after attending a meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the Presidential Palace. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
The International Monetary Fund reported that the global economy is remarkably resilient. But is resilience enough?
Amid anticipation and hope for borrowing cost reductions this year, United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced a steady interest rate, again. Elsewhere, in Europe and the Middle East, wars continue, if not escalate. All this is happening while the world’s most consequential bilateral relations deteriorate with distrust.
With that, many governments—with some exceptions such as Singapore—have increasingly become protectionist and are politicizing economic issues to win their constituents. Mass voters might not realize that isolating their countries from international trade and foreign investment is not a solution for secure jobs and lower food prices. The global economy has become so interconnected that no country can self-sustain in isolation.
Nothing is wrong with putting one’s country as number one. In fact, we must do so as patriots. However, it is too idealistic to think that the gain of one country is the loss of another.
Imagine it this way: a bank is expected to operate a chip manufacturing plant, and a supermarket engages in lending business. Forcing a company to do beyond its scope creates unnecessary risks and demoralizes its finances. Similarly, each economy has its competitive advantages. Forcing an economy to engage in a risky, unworthwhile business drives up prices, cuts jobs and is likely to trigger political discontent.
Many economies are stagnant. We need growth – not linear but accelerating growth. If opportunities at home seem bleak, look overseas and find them. We need a global mindset with a patriotic spirit – not a local mindset.
In my earlier article in this newspaper, “Indonesia’s SOEs reforms: How Chinese are they?” (2021), I alluded to how as China’s economy slowed down, it would tap into the immense opportunities in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. Instead of waiting for an uptick in local demand, China would deploy capital and technical expertise to meet the archipelago’s huge infrastructure and nickel processing demands.
