On the morning of January 21, President Ma attended the opening ceremonies of the 2014 CommonWealth Economic Forum, where he emphasized that Taiwan will play three important roles in Asia amid the trend toward regional economic integration by acting as a free trade practitioner, a contributor to regional trade networks, and a driver of prosperity in Asia.
The president was invited to deliver the opening remarks at the forum, which has been held annually in Taipei since 2010 by CommonWealth Magazine. This marks the fifth year of the forum, he said, which provides an important platform where political and business leaders from around the world can interact. President Ma stated that the theme of this year's forum, "The Power of Change in Asia," perfectly describes the current political and economic state of Asia.
President Ma remarked that over the past couple of decades, Asia has changed more dramatically than any other region in the world. From the standpoint of both investment environment and economic systems, Asia has become the main engine of global economic growth. The president pointed out that Asia accounted for over 50% of global economic growth in 2013, which shows that the "Asian century" is no longer a future prospect, but a present reality.
As for macroeconomic trends, President Ma said that Asia at present is the world's most vibrant region in terms of economic integration. He noted that the first round of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is expected to be completed this year, while negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are expected to be concluded in 2015. The TPP, he said, is a high-quality free trade agreement for market opening which, upon the conclusion of negotiations, will encompass 12 nations in the Asia-Pacific that have an aggregate population amounting to 11% of the world's populace. He further stated that the share of global GDP measured in purchasing power parity (PPP) for the TPP group is 32%. Meanwhile, the aggregate GDP of the RCEP's 16 member nations accounts for 33% of global GDP, while its members account for 48% of the world's population, he said. Once these two groupings are formed, Asia will "surpass the United States and be nipping at Europe's heels," he commented. In addition, the member nations of these agreements will enjoy an enormous bonus from systemic liberalization, which will undoubtedly cause a huge shift in global economic and trade relations, the president said.
At the level of individual economies, President Ma stated, another important force for change in Asia is coming from active reforms of economic systems by countries throughout the region. For instance, the president pointed out, the Japanese government is presently promoting the "three arrows of Abenomics," a series of measures introduced by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to revitalize Japan's economy. The most important "arrow" is medium- and long-term reform to that nation's economic structure, he said. President Ma mentioned that Japan is also taking advantage of joining the TPP to open its agriculture and services markets, which will help to enhance that nation's competitiveness. Meanwhile, the president pointed to the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, during which a blueprint was adopted to carry out even deeper reforms. It was decided that the mainland economy should become more market-oriented and more city- and town-driven. Also, land reforms will be promoted, along with changes to the household registration system and the social security system, he said. President Ma also noted that the Korean government is actively negotiating with other nations on free trade agreements to strengthen its industrial competitiveness and further boost its global market share.
The president emphasized that in the course of Asia's rise to economic prominence, Taiwan has served as an important driver of prosperity in the region. According to the World Investment Report 2013 published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, as of the end of 2012, Taiwan has invested over US$220 billion overseas, and the majority of this sum has been invested in Asia, he said. Taiwan's massive investment in Asia has created close links and a trade network between Taiwan and other economies in Asia, and is helping to drive industrial upgrading among neighboring countries and promote economic growth, the president stated.
President Ma also declared that in the future Taiwan will play three important roles in Asia by acting as a free trade practitioner, a contributor to regional trade networks, and a driver of prosperity in the region. With respect to the role of free trade practitioner, he said, the government is presently promoting free economic pilot zones (FEPZs) as test areas for Taiwan's economic liberalization and internationalization. It is expected, the president remarked, that these FEPZs will help achieve several objectives. First, they will open the door to a new wave of economic liberalization in Taiwan, hasten deregulation and systemic reforms, and promote the free flow of people, goods, and capital. Second, expanding the liberalization of Taiwan's market will bring Taiwan more closely in step with the international community and create an advantageous investment environment. Third, the FEPZs will offer a space to test out new types of economic activities, such as intelligent logistics, international health business, value-added agriculture, financial services, and innovative education, which will help to drive the transformation of Taiwan's industry.
The president then addressed Taiwan's role as a contributor to regional trade networks. He stated that Taiwan is situated in the center of the East Asian island chain in the Western Pacific. Taiwan has long been a hub in Asian industrial chains and an important link in global supply chains, the president remarked. If it can join the TPP and the RCEP, Taiwan will generate significant value for the close-knit economic and trade network in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, he added, this network's balance and comprehensiveness would thus be strengthened.
President Ma then discussed Taiwan's role in driving regional prosperity. He explained that, because the TPP is a high-quality free trade agreement, Taiwan's preparations to join the TPP would help address structural problems in its economy, such as insufficient liberalization, internationalization, and institutionalization. Addressing these issues would enhance Taiwan's long-term competitiveness, the president said. President Ma also commented that members of the TPP and RCEP are important trading partners for Taiwan. In 2012, he said, Taiwan's trade with the 12 member countries of the TPP accounted for 35% of the nation's trade, while 57% of Taiwan's trade is with the 16 members of the RCEP. This highlights how important it is for Taiwan to join these two economic partnership agreements, the president stated.
Lastly, President Ma mentioned that 2014 will be an important year for economic growth here, and called on all sectors to work together with the government, so that Taiwan can be a player in the current trend toward regional economic integration. He also said that the people of Taiwan must get used to the idea that give-and-take is an important part of this process, and that there must necessarily be tradeoffs. This is the only way, the president stated, that Taiwan can actively engage with other nations and once again be a driving force striding toward new horizons as economic change sweeps across Asia.