The answer lies in globalization – globalization of trade, of labour and of finance. The world witnessed a phenomenal expansion in global trade over the last 50 years; global trade as a proportion of global GDP more than doubled from 24 per cent in 1960 to 57 per cent in 2006, just before the crisis hit us.
It also bears noting that Asian trade growth has been accompanied by the creation of a variety of intraregional and broader trade agreements – including the 10-nation ASEAN and membership in the World Trade Organization, which China achieved in 2001 and Vietnam in 2007 – as well as a host of bilateral agreements, both within and outside the region.