Asia Has a Huge Stake in Davos Meeting

If Davos didn’t exist, Asia would have to invent it. The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, taking place in this snow-swept Alpine skiing village, in some respects has the potential to be more salient for Asia than the United Nations. Instead of a gathering of hidebound governments posturing for domestic publics and international constituencies, the Davos conclave brings together the informal audiences of high-powered business leaders, political figures and opinion-makers who are central to Asia’s current image and future prospects.

Consider Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, half-blind and barely able to move without the help of his ever-attendant daughter, ambling to the podium of a small Davos hotel ballroom to make a passionate pitch for his country, and to announce dramatically that Indonesia’s most-prominent military leader was to be sacked for possible human rights violations.

Earlier, Wahid told me: “We need America’s help, we cannot make it without you. Our democracy has enemies. We need American protection. Please tell your America that it can help us create our new democracy and keep it safe from the destroyers.”

It was a moving pitch from Asia, but it was not atypical. “For Asia there is no equivalent to Davos,” Singapore’s minister of trade and industry, George Yeo, explained. “It is a place where you can make an intellectual argument to the right audience and make it stick.”

During the last week, Chinese officials have been making the argument that their economic reforms are proceeding vigorously. The Japanese want people to know that they are truly moving forward on economic reform, finally. Throwing a big bash, India has been trying to remind Westerners of its massive existence. South Korea has been trumpeting its astonishing economic resurgence. Singapore was playing its usual role as a catalyst connector between East and West. And, of course, Indonesia has been making the argument that it is now or never for democracy because if the new government falters a military coup waits in the wings to pounce.

What Davos also means for Asia is the opportunity to get Washington’s ear. This year they had plenty of U.S. ears to whisper into. President Clinton came (the first American president to show up Davos in its 30-year history), bringing along half his Cabinet. Everyone from Asia noticed the marked change in the deportment of the U.S. delegation. Last year, U.S officials exuded an obnoxiousness about their fabulous economy at a time when Asia was still struggling. Not this time. Clinton set the tone with a wide-ranging speech on the need for business and political leaders to go out into the real world and sell the idea of globalization, rather than to try to ram it down everyone’s throats.

Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers was noncombative, even humble. In sessions with Asian leaders, he expressed highly informed concern about conditions in India and Indonesia and made pointed but polite suggestions to Chinese and Japanese leaders about their respective economies.

As U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky put it: “Larry and I discussed that there was just too much U.S. triumphalism. We agreed it needs to stop.” For her part, Barshefsky unplugged her tough-minded, take-no-prisoners-style and tried on a cozier, collaborative one in hopes of rekindling the seriously stalled World Trade Organization process. Always, the American approach was determinedly low-key and peer-group personal.

“This was all by design,” Commerce Secretary Bill Daley said. “We talked about it before coming here. We wanted to heighten our effectiveness by lowering our voices.”

It’s much too early to tell whether the new strategy will work.

Clinton says he will push as hard as he can on Capitol Hill for approval of permanent trading status for Beijing--which is tied in to the China WTO admission deal. After his Saturday address, Clinton told me that he also intends to push hard to restart WTO negotiations for a new trade round: “This is the moment now. You don’t get many moments like this in life.”

Clinton says he fears a reversion to national protectionism. He also believes that unless as many nongovernmental and nonbusiness groups as possible are brought inside the globalization establishment, every WTO meeting will have the potential of deteriorating into another Seattle. The president may not comprehend the ins and outs of macroeconomics, telecommunications or any of the other arcane subject areas that constitute the new globalization. But he understands human politics better than almost all mortals.

To nail down a globalization legacy before he leaves office, Clinton will need all the help he can get from the major players of Asia, especially Japan and China, which have had higher profiles here in past years. Clinton did make a great pro-globalization argument. Yet as both the American and Asian delegations return home, they will soon realize that the spirit of Davos doesn’t travel much beyond the frigid Swiss Alps. For globalization, it’s even colder elsewhere.