The general situation in the Asia-Pacific region has been stable through the year of 2015 as favorable economic and political factors keep emerging. The region in the year of 2016 will brace for growing economic opportunities, China’s bigger role and the uncertain security environment, reports Xinhua. Inclusiveness and win-win cooperation have become the mainstream concepts in the Asia-Pacific prosperity and development in 2015. Forging inclusive economy and jointly promoting prosperity in the region was a consensus reached at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ meeting in Manila, the Philippines, in November. The sixth China-Japan-South Korea leaders’ meeting was held in November in Seoul, restarting the trilateral cooperation mechanism after a three-and-half-year hiatus due to heightened regional tensions. The resumed talks sent out positive signals for seeking common ground while reserving differences and pushing forward cooperation. It also served as a platform for solving contradictions and achieving win-win cooperation, thus enhancing the international community’s confidence in the stability and development in the Asia-Pacific. In 2015, the process of establishing free trade areas in the region has been accelerated, which has witnessed the signing and coming into force of the China-South Korean Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the China-Australia FTA and a deal sealing between China and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) to upgrade their FTA, further promoting open, free trade and common prosperity in more regional countries. The ASEAN Community, with three pillars of the Political-Security Community, the Economic Community and the Socio-Cultural Community, will be formally established on Dec. 31, 2015, a landmark in the bloc’s integration process. The ASEAN Community is a great pioneering undertaking in Asia’s regional cooperation, which sets an example for and drive the economic integration, political security and social progress in a broader sense. China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the International Monetary Fund’s inclusion of China’s currency Renminbi (RMB) in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket as an international reserve currency, as well as the railway projects between China, Indonesia, Thailand and Laos have all demonstrated the favorable factors of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. More and more positive responses to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and the operation of the AIIB will assist Asia in infrastructure investment and bring about new opportunities for economic and social development of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.
