Synopsis

Global and regional economic trends over the past several years have given much cause for both optimism and pessimism. On the one hand, the COVID-19 pandemic, US-China strategic competition, as well as nationalist and populist concerns have disturbed economic cooperation and disrupted supply chains. On the other hand, there is also a trend towards multilateralism. For example, mega free trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) entered into force. Also, regional governments have coined several initiatives to strengthen regional economic institutions and resilience. In light of these developments, this edited monograph seeks to examine how regional countries could bolster economic integration in a post-pandemic era and offer policy recommendations for the way forward. This monograph, which is tentatively scheduled to be published in mid-2022, follows a workshop co-organised by RSIS and the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Japan in February 2022.