Asia and multilateral rules

More on the importance of a rules-based multilateral trading system and Asian economies vis a vis a growing emphasis on China setting the agenda is found in this piece in the East Asian Forum blog.

It summarises the situation thus:

Asia has more at stake in the global system than any other part of the world — its economies depend on the open rules-based system not only for their economic prosperity but also for their political security. The appeal to the rules-based system is a critically important dimension of protecting economic security and political security more broadly. Asian countries need to stand firm in the face of the threat to the global trade regime. The dynamic of Asian growth depends importantly upon remaining committed to the trade reform agenda and encouraging entrenchment and deepening — including by China, the Southeast Asian economies and India — of the open rules-based international trading system.

There is mention of investment facilitation and building a multilateral-based international digital economy regime in the above piece. The critical question is whether there is a common approach on these issues amongst Asian economies and how would multilateral and bilateral disciplines be framed in these arenas.With the challenges to the dispute settlement system at the WTO as well as the stagnation of the negotiation fora, it would need a renewed sense of purpose vis a vis national positions to revitalise the negotiation of multilateral rules.