Kirpa Ram Vij is one of the front line troops at the pivot point of the bustling Asia-Pacific trade. He is the Port of Seattle's representative for the Southeast Asian Region, based in Singapore.
A series of events, some of them unrelated but most of them interlocked, are erupting in the region and Vij said they will profoundly affect those involved in international trade.
"China is about to become part of the World Trade Organization and that means that China, the world's most populous nation with 1.2 billion people, will not only export goods, but will import goods as well," Vij said during a recent visit to the Port of Seattle's headquarters.
"We're watching the economies of the Southeast Asian nations, the ASEAN nations, emerge after severe economic problems over the past two or three years."
|