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Globalization has lifted millions of people out of poverty, especially in emerging Asia, but the world is facing new threats to continued, sustainable economic growth and development, an international forum in Jakarta heard on Sunday.

Business, government and civil society leaders attending the two-day World Economic Forum on East Asia that kicked off in the capital on Sunday, warned that efforts to address the challenges faced by the world were hampered by short-term thinking, election-cycle pressures and a preference for politically expedient solutions over collaborative responses. Political leaders are forced to focus on national interests to win elections, but solutions often require global action to ensure success.

Klaus Schwab, WEF founder and executive chairman, framed the issue as one of “deglobalization.” Challenges such as food and energy security, managing large flows of capital and ensuring sustainable growth all require global responses.

The solution to these problems, argued President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is for business leaders to work with governments to drive growth through innovation and push for greater economic openness.

“We need collaboration in achieving better growth, creating more jobs and reducing poverty while protecting the environment,” he told more than 600 global leaders at the meeting.

Asia must be at the center of this new globalism, the president said. “Asia must lead the way to keep markets and societies open. We can find creative ways to turn potential conflict into potential cooperation,” he said.

The region must also be the center of innovation and must leverage on its cultural diversity, he added. Indonesia, for example, was driven by opportunities, not fear. “This new-found confidence is not particular to Indonesia, you can see it throughout Asia.”

Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, who shared the stage with Yudhoyono, advised the business community to “continue to generate prosperity for your companies and countries and keep markets open and the benefits spreading to as wide a population as possible.”

Both spoke of Asia’s role in a world confronted by complex global issues such as climate change, economic imbalances, the need to strengthen the rules-based trading system and how to reform institutions and mechanisms of global governance.

Yudhoyono said tension remained between the old and new worlds but added that “every transformation takes time and toil but we need consensus.”

The forum — held here for the first time for its 20th anniversary, coinciding with Indonesia’s role as chair of Asean — aims to address a wide range of issues and challenges, ranging from navigating geopolitical risks in Asia to clearing bottlenecks to upgrade infrastructure.

Indonesia’s religious and ethnic diversity was also hotly discussed. The rise of religious extremism, said Yenny Wahid from the Wahid Institute, was of concern but Indonesia was fortunate because its two largest Muslim organizations supported pluralism.

On the topic of the impact of China and the United States on Asia, the panelists said the relationship between those two nations was critical for the region.

China’s rise, for example, may shift economic focus from free markets to greater state intervention, hurting private firms’ ability to compete. said James Riady, chief executive of the Lippo Group, with which the Jakarta Globe is affiliated.

“In the Pacific basin, China and America must lead. They must not just take but also give in the form of technology and innovation,” he said.

The forum continues today with sessions on job creation through entrepreneurship, building trade capacity in emerging markets and the role of social media in policy making.