East West Bank Chairman and CEO Dominic Ng is about to step into the spotlight of the global economic stage.
Ng, who
APEC is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to promote economic integration and shared prosperity across 21 nations that border the Pacific Ocean, from North America to China to Australia. Collectively, these countries make up nearly 40% of the world's population and more than 60% of global economic activity.
The United States will host APEC's meetings next year. Throughout the process, Ng will lead the advisory council, providing world leaders from U.S. President Biden to Chinese President Xi Jinping — heads of the two largest economies on the globe — with policy advice on everything from trade transparency to
Ng said in an interview that, inevitably, the council's policy priorities will center on climate change and ways to foster economic vibrancy while combating pollution and other known contributors to global warming.
"The way we are living is not sustainable; we have to change," Ng said from East West's headquarters in Pasadena, California. "We don't want to build the economy by damaging the environment further … the U.S. and China need to be the leaders."
As the chief executive of East West, which has
"We know Asia quite well," Ng said. "We have always helped U.S. businesses connect to Asia, including China, and vice versa."
Any proposed strategies would extend well into the next decade, Ng said. "It's really a long haul," he said.
Efforts will span everything from human rights to inclusive workforces that encourage diversity and fortify the strength of economies, Ng said. But perhaps the biggest challenge is climate change — and identifying ways that countries across the Asia-Pacific can find common ground to blunt its impacts.
"The good news is that the technology is already here," Ng said.
The council is likely to focus in large part on ways that some countries are using technology to reduce carbon emissions and minimize damage to the environment, he said. The goal is to demonstrate the effectiveness of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, for example, then develop financial incentives for APEC member countries to emulate each other's successes.
Ng noted that China reduced emissions by developing and operating a vast network of electric-powered, high-speed railways.
China's rapid rail expansion over the past decade at first added pollution, because much of the country relies on coal to generate electricity. However, the rail system created new capacity for freight on conventional trains, ultimately pulling gas-burning trucks off highways and reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, according to Chinese studies.
More progress lies ahead if China can follow the lead of the U.S. and others by using cleaner power sources for electricity than coal.
Ng also noted that wealthy nations throughout the Asia-Pacific are promoting the development of electric vehicles. Some, including the U.S. and China, are studying ways to perfect and expand the development of plant-based meat alternatives. This could lower methane emissions from cattle and dramatically reduce physical footprints needed to raise livestock.
"We already have proven paths," he said.
The 2022 APEC meetings wrapped up this month in Bangkok. Host country Thailand brokered support among member countries to condemn Russia's war in Ukraine while also broadly committing to sustainable economic growth, opening the door for Ng's ambitions in 2023.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and China's Xi met at the final APEC summit of the year and agreed to keep open lines of communication. Biden and Xi had met earlier this fall, and Xi said he viewed the talks as an important step toward a "next stage" in the two countries' relations, according to a Chinese government summary provided to the Associated Press.
It marked a small but notable shift in tone from the Chinese leader following several years of fraying relations with the U.S.
Ng said China's government and businesses, while often not on the same geopolitical page as the West, want to maintain trade and, over the coming decades, contribute to new practices needed to slow climate change and grow their economies.
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