Chapter 2: A More Regionally Anchored ASEAN+3: The Transformation of Economic Linkages

The global environment surrounding ASEAN+3 has shifted markedly, raising pressing questions about the region’s near-term resilience and longer-term positioning. This chapter provides the structural perspective essential for assessing these questions, mapping how the region’s economic linkages have transformed over the past two decades, and examining what this means for macroeconomic management and long-term growth.

ASEAN+3’s economic linkages have undergone a fundamental transformation. Regional production networks have become denser and more interconnected, while the region has emerged as a major source of global final demand. This structural shift means the region is better positioned to weather current trade disruptions than earlier configurations would have allowed, though it does not imply immunity to external headwinds.

Deeper integration has brought business cycles closer together, making sound macroeconomic management a matter of regional concern. Sustaining long-term resilience requires upgrading domestic capabilities, reducing concentration risks, and ensuring integration gains are broadly shared through deepened regional cooperation.