Is the Pacific Rim Re-thinking Globalization?

The Economic Strategy Institute and the Open Society Institute hosted a discussion that focused on the conclusions of the APEC CEO Summit 2002 at the National Press Club's Peter Lisagor Room.

On October 24-26, 2002, Mexico hosted the 2002 edition of the APEC CEO Summit. APEC CEO Summits are held every year in conjunction with the meeting of the heads of state and other government officials of the 22-members Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The CEO Summit serves as a forum of discussion between business leaders, decision-makers, and the region's leading policy experts. The Economic Strategy Institute designed and organized the program of panels for the summit's organizing committee.

The discussions held at the APEC CEO Summit 2002 yielded many fascinating results, reflecting the summit's theme of "Challenges for Development in an Era of Uncertainty". They revealed unexpected trends and concerns among the region's leaders on major policy issues, such as:

• The rise of China: China is displacing many Asia-Pacific countries at all levels of the economic chain. Koreans, Mexicans, and Americans now must deal and compete with the new China.
• The architecture of the international financial system: Have the financial crises of Asia and Latin America made business and political leaders weary of financial liberalization?
• The need to redirect globalization: Is the "Washington consensus" of the World Bank and IMF dead?

Three of the experts who spoke at the APEC CEO Summit discussed its main conclusions:

• Thomas Palley, director of OSI's Globalization Reform Project
• Clyde Prestowitz, president of the Economic Strategy Institute
• Dr. Hilton Root, senior fellow at the Economic Strategy Institute