As the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting kicks off in South Korea, a critical question looms: Will the Asia-Pacific region embrace shared prosperity or succumb to economic weaponization? 🌐 Experts warn that tariffs, tech bans, and financial pressure threaten to fracture the world’s most dynamic economic zone—home to 60% of global GDP.
The Weaponization of Economic Policy
While countries like the U.S. justify tech restrictions and trade barriers as 'national security' measures, critics argue these tactics prioritize geopolitical dominance over collective growth. 🚫⚡ Professor Timothy Kerswell notes: "These policies aren’t neutral—they’re power plays disguised as protectionism."
APEC’s Role in Bridging Divides
Founded to prevent economic fragmentation, APEC now faces its toughest test. Smaller economies risk collateral damage from supply chain disruptions and shrinking policy space. 💼🌱 The meeting’s theme—"Connect, Innovate, Prosper"—could either become a blueprint for sustainable growth or empty rhetoric.
A Call for Multilateral Muscle
True innovation, analysts suggest, requires dismantling zero-sum mentalities. 🔄💡 With the Chinese mainland and other Asia-Pacific economies driving global tech advancement, cooperation—not coercion—could unlock green energy breakthroughs and AI ethics frameworks benefiting all 3 billion regional residents.
