The 28th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and China, Japan, South Korea (10+3) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting was held in Milan, Italy on May 4.

Officials attending the meeting took a group photo before the meeting. (Xinhua News Agency) China, Japan, South Korea and the ten ASEAN countries jointly issued a warning that trade barriers are threatening the division of the global economy, and they agreed to strengthen the regional financial safety net to respond promptly to crises triggered by the pandemic and natural disasters.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from China, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN member states issued a joint statement during the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank held in Milan, Italy on Sunday (May 4).

In the statement, the finance ministers and central bank governors of various countries pointed out that the growing trade protectionism will drag down global trade, lead to economic fragmentation, and affect trade, investment and capital flows in the region. “We call for enhanced regional unity and cooperation during this period of uncertainty. The current policy priorities are to enhance long-term resilience while maintaining flexibility to deal with short-term challenges, including the rise of trade protectionism and fluctuations in the global financial situation.” The statement said that all countries are committed to “a rules-based, non-discriminatory, free, fair, open, inclusive, just and transparent multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core.”

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, although this statement does not directly name the United States, a series of reciprocal tariff measures announced by the Trump administration in early April may cause a serious impact on Southeast Asian countries that rely on export trade.

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato told the media after the meeting that the participating countries “reaffirmed the importance of strengthening cooperation for economic and financial stability.” The joint statement said that the participating countries also decided to expand the scope of application of the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMIM), allowing participating countries to obtain emergency financing support without conditions when facing financial crises triggered by sudden shocks.

According to a report by Reuters, the Chiang Mai Initiative was established after the Asian financial crisis from 1997 to 1998 with the aim of maintaining regional financial stability through currency swap arrangements. Currently, the total size of the CMIM fund pool is 240 billion US dollars (310 billion Singapore dollars), of which Japan and China each contribute 76.8 billion US dollars, and South Korea contributes 38.4 billion US dollars, and the ten ASEAN countries contribute a total of 48 billion US dollars.