{"id":20499,"title":"Time for New Allies? The EU Should Push EU Asia Economic Relations","link":"https:\/\/bst-europe.eu\/de\/europe-in-the-world\/time-for-new-allies-the-eu-should-push-its-relations-with-asia\/","date":"16. Oktober 2018","date_unix":1539696408,"date_modified_unix":1754485407,"date_iso":"2018-10-16T13:26:48+00:00","content":"

Rising protectionism worldwide<\/a>\u00a0and, more specifically, the political antics of U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>, have given strong momentum to what some observers have already called \u201cEurope\u2019s Asia Pivot\u201d<\/strong>. The coming Brexit means that the European Union is also facing an at least partial economic disintegration. Against this backdrop it is all the more important for the EU to find new partners and to strengthen or reorient relations with old partners, like Asia.<\/p>\n

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EU Asia Trade relations: ASEM summit ahead<\/h2>\n

As the heads of the 53 ASEM members convene in Brussels from October 18-19, 2018 for the ASEM Summit, aptly titled, \u201cEurope and Asia: Global Partners for Global Challenges“, this idea has gained momentum. <\/b>With the United States\u2019 growing unreliability as the EU\u2019s partner in international affairs, the EU and Asia have a common interest in maintaining the international rules-based system and neither can accomplish this without the other.<\/i><\/p>\n

Today, the four largest Asian national economies\u2014China, Japan, India, and South Korea\u2014already account for approximately one-fourth of global GDP. So does the United States, still the dominant global economic power. However, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to have high economic growth in the future, while the growth rates in western industrial countries are forecast to stagnate or decline. For this reason, the EU\u2019s Trade and Investment Strategy published in 2015 also calls for the strengthening of the EU\u2019s \u201cpresence in the Asia-Pacific region\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) already gives European-Asian relations an institution that lends itself to this purpose, since the promotion of economic cooperation is an important pillar in the ASEM process. In the future, Asia and Europe could make greater use of this platform to further expand the framework for EU Asia trade\u00a0<\/i>and investment relations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\"BST_GED_ASEM_E_Tab1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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China as Main Driver: EU Asia Trade Relations<\/h2>\n

The 18 Asian members of the ASEM already are important in so-called \u201cextra-EU\u201d trade, that is, the exchange of goods between the EU and the rest of the world: In 2016, they stood for approximately 31 percent. China as the region\u2019s economic heavyweight accounts for half of this (14.7 percent). Nevertheless, the United States continues to be the EU\u2019s most important extra-EU trading partner. In imports, however, China takes first place over the United States.<\/p>\n

Among the top 10 extra-EU trading partners in 2016, there were three other ASEM members: Japan, South Korea, and India. It was only trade with China, however, that grew at a truly dynamic rate. Japan\u2019s share has fallen by almost half since 2002. South Korea\u2019s and India\u2019s shares have stagnated. In contrast, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, which are regularly cited as future economic centers in the region, have barely exceeded 1 percent in the past 15 years.<\/p>\n

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\"BST_GED_ASEM_E_Fig2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Free Trade Agreements: Key to Release EU-Asia Trade Potential<\/h2>\n

Free trade agreements (FTAs) are one key to releasing the potential that trade relations between the EU and its most significant ASEM trading partners could offer. Currently, the EU is negotiating bilateral FTAs with a number of Asian countries. Negotiations on bilateral FTA\u2019s has already been concluded with Singapore and Vietnam, although the agreements have not yet entered into force. Other negotiations have gained new momentum since U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s accession to office. Those with Japan concluded and the agreement should enter into force in 2019. To date, however, South Korea is the only Asian member of the ASEM that has an FTA with the EU that has entered into force.<\/p>\n

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Room for Growth: European-Asian Investment Relations<\/h2>\n
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Transatlantic relationships are dominant in foreign direct investment (FDI) between the EU and non-EU member states (extra-EU FDI), too:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n