11 November 2009 (Singapore) - APEC leaders meeting in Singapore later this week have been sent a clear message from Asia Pacific opinion-leaders: It is too soon to exit from the
expansionary policies that were put in place over the last year in response to the global
economic crisis. “Continued action on the economic crisis” was at the top of a list of suggested
priorities for APEC, followed by “regulation of the financial sector”, “restarting the Doha process”,“climate change and the Copenhagen Deal”, and “reducing the cost of doing business”.
The survey of nearly 400 opinion-leaders from business, government, think tanks, and civil
society was conducted by the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) in October, and is part of PECC's annual State of the Region report.

“There has been a marked rise in optimism about the economic outlook, but opinion-leaders
believe it is too soon for governments to withdraw the stimulus measures of the past year,” said
Yuen Pau Woo, coordinator of the report and President of the Asia Pacific Foundation of
Canada.

Looking beyond the crisis, opinion-leaders identified a number of key policies for sustainable
growth in the Asia Pacific region. These included, in order of importance: 1) strengthening
financial regulations around the globe; 2) rebalancing the Chinese and US economies; and 3)
increasing final goods trade among Asian economies. According to respondents, the growth
engines of the next five years are "expenditures on social priorities", "liberalization of the
services sector", and "measures to promote a green economy".

Mr Woo added: "The survey results paint a picture of a post-crisis world where the engines of
growth are shifting from the US to Asia; from exports to domestic spending, especially on social
priorities; and from production of goods to production of services. The future will not be
‘business as usual’.

In the same vein, opinion leaders voiced their support for changes in global and regional
institutions. More than 80 percent of respondents agreed with the view that the IMF and World
Bank should be reformed to increase the role of Asian economies in the governance of these
institutions. Likewise, an overwhelming majority of respondents supported the continuation of
the G20 process even after the crisis. And nearly 70 percent agreed that there was a need for a
forum where Asia Pacific leaders could discuss political and security issues.

“The institutionalism of the G20 process is a welcome reform to the international system,
however for it to be effective, regional and other multilateral institutions need to support and
complement their agenda. APEC whose membership accounts for half of the G20 can play a
constructive role in articulating the concerns of the whole region on the global stage,” said Mr
Jusuf Wanandi, co-chair of PECC and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies based in Jakarta. “Although economic issues top the agenda today, the
survey result on the need for a forum where leaders can discuss political issues is striking and
highlights a need for confidence building at the highest-level to avoid possible future tensions,”
he added.

Respondents were not impressed by APEC's response to the economic crisis, with only 26
percent expressing satisfaction with the regional forum's actions. When asked to list the major
challenges facing APEC, the top three items were "Lack of commitment from key member
economies", "Lack on focus on relevant economic issues", and "Annual Leaders' meetings are
not effective". However, when asked if the East Asian Summit process would eventually
overshadow APEC, respondents on balance disagreed.

“Lack of commitment from key member economies has topped the list of challenges facing
APEC since we started doing this survey,” said Dr Charles E. Morrison, co-chair of PECC and
President of the East West Center, Honolulu. “To me, this consistent result suggests that the
opinion-leaders we survey fail to see a sustained interest and drive by the leading economies in
the Asia-Pacific cooperation process. I believe they are looking for vigorous champions that
would lead this process to a new and broader level in addressing both Asia-Pacific and global
issues,” he added.