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BFA focuses on the digital economy and promotes coordinated development: Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN

By Sheng Chuyi, Meng Fansheng (People's Daily Online)    19:04, March 29, 2019

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference 2019 opened in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, on March 28. Aladdin D. Rillo, the Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Economic Community, shared his views on the digital economy and coordinated development in an exclusive interview with People’s Daily Online during the forum.

Rillo praised the forum as an effective platform for leaders and experts in the Asia Pacific region to exchange views. “One important issue for Asia is the fourth industrial revolution, or the digital economy, because it affects the future of Asia in terms of how to enhance the competitiveness and as well as the productivity of the region. I like the fact that the forum can focus on that, because in the coming years we’ll be talking about issues related to the digital economy and how Asia can respond,” he said.

This year’s annual conference also reveals a large number of new technologies, including 5G. Rillo noted that the use of big data is significant because Asia needs this kind of information to come up with solutions for large-scale economic issues. Under the fourth industrial revolution, Asia can utilize big data to come up with better decisions for the economy.

Rillo noted that he thought the Hainan Free Trade Zone and Free Trade Port was an important initiative for China. “[The Hainan Free Trade Zone] will help China to develop more into the regional production network and value chains. [To build the Free Trade Zone], you have to make sure that other elements of doing business are in place, like effective and efficient customs procedures, and also the ability to streamline non-tariff measures in addition to tariff reductions,” he noted.

Against the backdrop of slowed world economic growth and uncertainty surrounding global business and trade, Rillo emphasized that Asia is connected with the rest of the world, and what is going to happen in other countries will also affect Asia.

“Given the current environment, there is a lot of interaction. It’s about time for Asia to enhance the synergy of connectivity to sustain our goal in the coming years,” he said.

Rillo pointed out that regional cooperation will help to address any developmental challenges, for example, climate change and environmental degradation. “Unfortunately, no country can solve these issues alone, so we need to have more coordinated action. With strong regional cooperation, countries can address a lot of development challenges,” said Rillio.

Rillo provided three suggestions to promote the coordinated development in the upcoming years for a shared future of humankind. First, he said that prioritized areas need to be promoted, to maximize the benefits of regional cooperation. Second, countries need to address the issue of implementation. Last is the commitment of all countries in the region. “Without the support of every country, I don’t think regional cooperation will prosper. That’s why commitment is very important here. I think Asia has been able to achieve that over the years and we need to continue,” he said.

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(Web editor: Du Mingming, Bianji)

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