Amidst the potential risks from the COVID-19 pandemic, APEC economies want to find consensus to be ready to deal with potential shocks and find a solution to the "problem" of recovery.
APEC members have faced a protracted economic and health crisis due to the impact of the pandemic. A recent report by the APEC Policy Support Unit showed that the recovery of economies is still highly dependent on vaccination progress and vaccine distribution across the region. However, APEC is still expected to achieve economic growth of 6.4% this year. APEC has made progress in facilitating the transport of essential goods, including the supply of vaccines and related goods and services as well as medical equipment and digital trade.
During the current fraught period due to the pandemic, APEC economies are working to enhance their cooperation in addressing the immediate crisis and boost recovery across the region. The assurance of production, supply and distribution of vaccines against COVID-19 as well as efforts in vaccine sharing and removal of barriers to the flow of essential goods and services towards ensuring all people can be covered by the region's health care systems are all issues of primary importance but remain challenging.
Increased trade and more openness, structural reform and the enhancement of cooperation among APEC members are said to be effective responses to the challenges caused by the pandemic. APEC is also making efforts to find commonalities between the 21 member economies on boosting digital trade in the region through the internet and digital economy roadmap while solving the current gaps that will enable everyone to enjoy benefits from this sector.
The region's economies have implemented a series of measures to limit the spread of the epidemic while providing broad-based support to protect their economies and people’s livelihoods. However, this is not a long-term sustainable measure. In the context of the prolonged pandemic threatening economic activities, APEC economies are making stronger concerted efforts to ensure a sustainable recovery and exploit their growth potential in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth.
