The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted both supply and demand sides of an interconnected world economy during 2020. Asia and the Pacific was not immune. Lockdowns and travel and trade restrictions affected nearly all aspects of cross-border economic activity. Trade was hit hard as demand fell. Global supply chains were forced to adapt. Foreign direct investment slowed. Financial vulnerabilities were heightened. Overseas migration and worker remittances were severely disrupted. And tourism, important to many of the region’s economies, was particularly hard hit. The Asian Economic Integration Report (AEIR) 2021 examines the initial impact on trade, investment, finance, and people’s mobility across the region as the pandemic struck. The report looks at how regional economies individually or collectively respond to the crisis by, for example, leveraging rapid technological progress, digitalization, and increasing services trade to reconnect and recover. Although the pandemic is not over yet, the Asia and Pacific region has demonstrated a great deal of resilience, due in part to authorities’ swift policy responses and regional cooperation efforts. And it suggests how better managing globalization and regional integration could help seize the potential opportunities as economies gradually recover in a post-COVID-19 environment.
