IMF officials call for Asia to strengthen regional integration amid trade tensions

Sri Nivasan, Director of the Asia Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), recently said in an interview that in the face of trade tensions, Asian economies should strengthen regional integration, and platforms such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) can help promote this process.

The IMF's recently released forecast shows that Asia is expected to grow by 4.5% in 2025 and 4.1% in 2026. Srinivasan said that there are some very strong "tailwind factors" behind the faster than expected growth of the Asian economy in April: firstly, the tariff level is lower than the forecast in April, and the export performance is very strong; Secondly, all countries in the region have implemented macro policy support, including fiscal and monetary policies, and in some cases, both; Thirdly, the financial environment is also very favorable.