Liberalisasi perdagangan telah meningkatkan interdependensi dan intensitas kerjasama antar negara, namun pada saat yang sama jugs meningkatkan iklim kompetisi secara global. Seiama beberapa dekade terakhir, tren regionalisme semakin meningkat, terutama dalam kerangka kerjasama ekonomi. Integrasi ekonomi regional ASEAN diharapkan dapat meningkatkan kondisi perekonomian kawasan secara menyeluruh.
Tujuan tersebut tampaknya akan sulit tercapai karena hubungan ekonomi intra-ASEAN yang bersifat non-komplementer. Sebagai stabilisator perekonomian nasional maupun regional, sektor UKM akan menghadapi tantangan yang lebih berat, terutama dari kalangan pengusaha asing. Dalam pembahasan tentang UKM, kesuksesan China dalam mengembangkan sektor UKM-nya secara global tidak dapat dikesampingkan. Integrasi ekonomi ASEAN jugs tidak terpisahkan dari faktor China. Di satu sisi, integrasi ekonomi akan meningkatkan iklim kompetisi regional, namun di sisi lain integrasi ekonomi jugs perlu direalisasikan untuk menghadapi pengaruh ekonomi China di kawasan.
Dalam rencana penerapan Pasar Tunggal ASEAN, terdapat empat karakteristik utama, yaitu kebebasan arus barang dan jasa, kebebasan arus tenaga kerja ahli, prinsip non-diskriminasi dalam keprofesian, dan kebebasan arus modal. Penerapan pasar tunggal perlu dipandang sebagai peluang (bertambahnya pangsa pasar) sekaligus ancaman (banjirnya produk asing yang lebih kompetitif) bagi kalangan usaha domestik, terutama sektor UKM. Di kawasan Asia Tenggara, sektor UKM Malaysia dan Thailand sudah dianggap sebagai pemain regional yang kompetitif. Pencapaian tersebut tidak terlepas dari strategi dan kebijakan pemerintahnya masing-masing dalam pemberdayaan UKM.
Apabila dilihat dari sudut pandang kebijakan, daya saing sektor UKM Indonesia secara regional masih lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan sektor UKM Thailand dan Malaysia. Kesuksesan pengembangan sektor UKM China, tidak terlepas dari peran negara (pemerintah pusat) sebagai pengambil keputusan. Dalam menghadapi kompetisi regional, Indonesia perlu merumuskan cetak biru dan strategi pengembangan UKM yang Iebih selaras dengan prinsip liberalisasi perdagangan. Sementara itu dalam menghadapi China, negara-negara ASEAN perlu segera mewujudkan integrasi ekonomi kawasan dalam komitmen Pasar Tunggal dan Basis Produksi Tunggal.
Untuk dapat bertahan dalam liberalisasi ekonomi kawasan, pemerintah Indonesia perlu Iebih proaktif dan bersikap pragmatis. Dalam meningkatkan kesejahteraan sosial masyarakat, pemerintah tidak dapat lagi terlalu mengandalkan peran korporasi besar dan MNC. Paradigma pembangunan nasional perlu difokuskan pada sektor UKM sebagai tulang punggung perekonomian masyarakat. Dalam menghadapi China, Indonesia dan negara-negara ASEAN juga perlu mengesampingkan friksi-friksi politik yang selama ini masih mewarnai hubungan intra-kawasan.
Trade liberalization has resulted both in increasing interdependence and cooperation among nation-states while at the same time also increasing competition between friends and (or) foes. In the last few decades, there was a significant growing trend towards regionalism, especially those in the state of economic cooperation. ASEAN economic integration initially aimed to increase the region's social welfare in an inclusive scale.
However, some experts doubt the aspired plan since the nature of infra-ASEAN's trade based mostly on non-complementary relations. SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) as a 'controller' on social, political, and economic stability both domestically and regionally, lend to face harder challenges, particularly from large-scale and foreign enterprises. In the framework of SMEs, we can no longer under estimate China's SMEs development at the global scale. At the similar point, ASEAN's economic integration, more or less, also related to this China factor. The implementation of ASEAN Single Market will intensively increases economic and trade competition among member states. On the other hand, ASEAN's economic integration will also entirely needed to overcome China's economic power in the region.
There are generally four characteristics in the focal point of ASEAN Single Market free flow of goods and services, free flow of skilled labors, non-discriminatory standard on professional certification. and freer flow of capital among member states, The upcoming Single Markel should be seen - all at once - as both threat (an overflow of more competitive imported goods) and opportunity (growing market) for SMEs practitioners. in the Southeast Asian region, Thai and Malaysian SMEs have been recognized as two of the most competitive regional players. Yet, the achievement must not be seen apart from the goverments' policies and effective strategies in SMEs development.
From the standpoint of general policy environment, Indonesian SMEs' regional competitiveness level is still far left behind Thailand and Malaysia. China's attainment in SMEs development is also an outcome of the state's (government's) continuous role as the primary decision maker. In facing the forthcoming regional competition, Indonesian government needs to redesign its domestic policy towards SMEs as well as to put forward a blueprint for SME development that may possibly pursue the values of trade liberalization. Meanwhile in facing China's economic influence, ASEAN member countries should soon put into action the region's economic integration and the committed agreement to build ASEAN as a single market and single production base.
To be able to survive in the era of regional trade liberalization, Indonesian government is required to be more practical and 'down to business'. To improve the nation's social welfare, we can no longer depend only on large-scale enterprises and MNCs (Multinational Corporations). National development paradigm should be diverted to SMEs development as the backbone of the communities' subsistence. In facing China's economic dominance, ASEAN member countries must also be able to put aside political friction and ideological confrontation in the region.
