Message from the Co-Chairs

On 11 March the World Health Organization made the assessment that the COVID-19 outbreak was a global pandemic. This virus has now spread across our entire region and the world. The impact on human life and economic activity has already been harsh and is likely to continue to be so. The World Health Organization has said that the response must be “a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach, built around a comprehensive strategy to prevent infections, save lives and minimize impact”. We have seen APEC member economies are strengthening cooperation and taking measures to combat COVID-19 and stabilize their economies. To contribute to regional cooperation on COVID-19 we have developed this webpage to share information and best practice on how our region is responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

Information posted here includes perspectives from our member committees on how their economies are responding to the crises, initiatives undertaken by our member committees, their host institutions and members to the crisis as well as expert opinions which reflect views from the submit committees and do not necessarily represent those of the Co-Chairs or the Secretariat as a whole.

Last year’s State of the Region report concluded that “At a time when the economies are more interconnected than ever through digital technologies and facing common existential threats such as pandemics and more frequent and harsher natural disasters, the governance systems that facilitate coordinated responses need to be strengthened not weakened.” In this spirit we call on members of the PECC community to come together and leverage our expertise from our various fields and contribute in our way to finding solutions to this crisis and using the PECC as platform to learn from each other as we go through this troubled times together as one community.

ECONOMY RESPONSES ON COVID-19

Australian's Response

Canada and COVID-19: Impact and Response

Briefing on China’s Response to COVID-19 Outbreak

Hong Kong, China’s efforts in combating the COVID-19 Pandemic

New Zealand Policy Response to COVID-19

 (The list will be updated regularly at PECC website)

OPINIONS ON COVID-19

Trade and Connectivity in the Post-COVID-19 World

Pascal Lamy
President of the Paris Peace Forum of the French Committee of the PECC; Former Director General of the WTO

Eduardo Pedrosa
Secretary-General, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council*

Even as some economies begin to relax their lockdowns, it is too early and too much is unknown to realistically assess the economic impact. The consequences of this crisis have been and will be felt across every aspect of human life. (Read More ...)

COVID-19 has Exposed Major Gaps in our Social Safety Nets: In a Post-COVID World Will these Gaps be Closed?

Hugh Stephens
Vice Chair, Canadian National Committee on Pacific Economic Cooperation (CANCPEC)

The onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic has brought into question many long-held assumptions about how we interact socially, conduct business and deal with marginalized segments of our society.   (Read more ...)

COVID-19: Experiences from best practices in Asia show a path forward in the fight against the coronavirus

Jeffrey Reeves
Vice-President of Research for the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

Extract: Asian economies are some of the most integrated in the world, with supply and value chains stretching across numerous economies, each ultimately dependent on the other. (Read More ...)

Multilateral Cooperation is a Safeguard against Pandemics

Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria
Executive Director, APEC Secretariat

Extract: This pandemic demonstrates more than ever the current and future value of multilateral cooperation, which should ideally be in fighting form amid a global crisis. International organizations play a crucial role in monitoring and assessing the impact of a crisis on trade, investment and global value chains.  (Read More ...)