The recent APEC summit in Beijing resuscitated the free-trade promotion forum which has been eclipsed in recent years. The various ambitious initiatives proposed by host, China, could connect and transform the region.

“Water Cube”, the 2008 Beijing Olympics water sports complex, was perhaps a potent venue for the gala dinner of the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. For water, at least in some versions of traditional Chinese culture, symbolises wealth and prosperity. Indeed, the host country, China, announced huge amounts of future capital investment throughout the APEC summit, mainly to shore up the infrastructural development in its Asia-Pacific neighbours, and henceforth to connect them with China’s huge market and production base.

…Oh Ei Sun is a Senior Fellow with the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.