Foundation of Asian Trade Integration Continues to Strengthen

Boao (ANTARA) - The foundation of Asian trade integration continues to strengthen, according to a report released by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on Tuesday (24/3).

Intra-regional trade dependency rose slightly from 56.3 percent in 2023 to 57.2 percent in 2024, as major economies in the region increasingly strengthen their trade ties with one another, revealed the report titled “Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report 2026”.

Bilateral trade among major Asia-Pacific economies generally continues to gain momentum, with intra-ASEAN trade experiencing a rebound and two-way flows between ASEAN and China serving as the primary drivers of that recovery, the report stated.

China’s exports to emerging economies are growing faster than exports to Japan and South Korea, reinforcing its role as a regional hub supported by market scale and strong supplies of semi-finished goods, the report added.

China’s relations with these partners are also evolving beyond traditional “trade partner” dynamics towards a “community with a shared future”, marked by increasingly close interconnections in industrial sectors and value chains, the report noted.

Driven by rising investments in digital infrastructure, dividends from demand in Asia’s vast markets, and deepening regional economic integration, the region is gradually transforming from mere participants in global services trade into one of its main growth engines, the report stated.