The sixth issue of the ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO 2022) provides AMRO staff’s comprehensive assessment of conjunctural and structural issues in the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China; Hong Kong, China; Japan; and Korea.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 two years ago, the region’s economies have been waging a war against the virus for control of their economies while protecting the health of their populations. Now, as we move through 2022, it appears that the region may have finally gained some ground in its long battle against the virus and can look forward to a fuller opening-up and a strong economic recovery. But new risks have emerged. Will the war in Ukraine jeopardize the region’s recovery? Chapter 1 of AREO 2022 covers key macroeconomic developments in the ASEAN+3 region and assesses the risks to the outlook.

COVID-19 has been a major disruptor—as well as a catalyst for change. Will the pandemic damage the region’s long-term growth potential? How will the pandemic affect ASEAN+3’s longstanding manufacturing-for-export growth strategy and the prospect of developing services as a second engine of growth? Chapter 2 of the report addresses the nature and extent of economic scarring caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and policy priorities for the region’s economies as they embark on their post-pandemic growth phase.