Asian ministers prepare Asia-Europe summit
Asian ministers prepare Asia-Europe summit
By Philip McClellan
BANGKOK (AFP): Asian economic ministers are to meet in Thailand this week to prepare for next month's Asia-Europe summit which will touch on political and security issues, but be mainly economic in focus.
Asian officials have been keen to stress the economic aspects of the summit, to take place March 1-2 in Bangkok, and to keep away from contentious areas such as human rights that the Europeans have been eager to discuss.
The two-day economic ministers' meeting, which opens in the northern city of Chiang Rai tomorrow, comes two weeks after foreign ministers from 10 East Asian countries met in the southern Thai resort of Phuket.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said then that trade, the transfer of technology and enhancing investment would be the main focus of the summit, not what he called "irrelevant issues" such as human rights.
Europe stands to gain from tapping into the booming economies of East Asia, while the Asians have been eager to expand their market for a growing number of consumer and industrial goods.
The value of trade between Asia and Europe remains relatively low, totaling US$238 billion in 1994, about the same level of trade between the United States and Europe in the same period.
Analysts here note the trade benefits enjoyed by the United States with regard to Asia as a result of membership in the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and say Europe would like a similar arrangement.
But while boosting trade and investment will be the aim for both sides, many officials warn against expecting too much from the unprecedented summit.
"There are so many countries and just two days for discussing the issues, so I don't think we will do much more than stress closer cooperation between the two sides," a senior Thai official said recently.
Other officials said contentious issues such as alleged dumping of Asian products in Europe and copyright violations are likely to take a backseat given the limited timeframe and number of participants at the summit.
"The leaders are likely to discuss constructive macro-economic matters rather than focus on arguments about small issues like anti-dumping," Krik-krai Jirapaet, director of Thailand's Business Economics Department, told reporters.
Asian countries have been accused of dumping goods on the European market, but in turn say Europe's internal regulations on trade lack transparency.
China has complained that the European Union's "discriminatory" trade policy, specifically several EU anti- dumping measures, had caused "big losses" for Chinese exporters and called for an end to the practice.
Ryuta Mizuchi, director of the economic division at the Japanese embassy in Bangkok, said one specific topic likely to crop up at the summit would be the finalization of the terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The time-frames on the three outstanding sectors of the world free trade pact -- agriculture, financial services and telecommunications -- all lapse later this year.
Many Asian countries have been accused by the Europeans of dragging their feet on the liberalization of their agricultural sectors, traditionally the backbone of most economies in Asia.
Another issue which could cause tensions ahead of the summit is a new EU trade policy due to be unveiled today, which will include a call for the WTO to examine the relationship between trade and social standards.
Asian countries, many of which have tightly controlled labor unions and used child labor in their drive for economic growth, have criticized similar attempts as western meddling in their internal social affairs.
The meeting in Chiang Rai will be attended by representatives from Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.