East Asia’s Evolving Economic Order: Toward Cohesion or Fragmentation? Videoconference

DAY 1 - TUESDAY, 09 NOVEMBER 2021

Introductory remarks
09:15 - 09:30 Paris CET

• Françoise Nicolas, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
• François Chih-chung Wu, Representative, Taipei Representative Office in France

Taiwan’s strategy to compete in the global economy
09:30 - 10:05 Paris CET

Interview with the Honorable John C.C. Deng, Minister without Portfolio, Taiwan

• Topics to discuss: Taiwan’s industrial policy, including on re-shoring and supply chain reorganization, and foreign trade and investment strategy, including relations with PRC, trade diversification, negotiations with the US, and relations with Europe.

Interviewer: Françoise Nicolas, Senior Economist and Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri

Geoeconomics and the balance of power in East Asia
10:10 - 11:30 Paris CET

Topics of discussion:

• Geoeconomics – the use of economic power to pursue foreign policy and geopolitical goals – and its implications for the regional economy and balance of power in East Asia.
• Interdependence and the weaponization of trade and the economy.
• The tools of geoeconomic power and their use by major powers in the region.
• The nature, effectiveness and impact of grand “connectivity” strategies – Belt and Road Initiative, Free and Open Indo-Pacific, Build Back Better World, Europe’s Global Gateway, etc.   

Speakers:

• Anthea Roberts, Professor, School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), Australian National University
• Xue Gong, Assistant Professor, China Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technical University
• Cheng-Chwee Kuik, Associate Professor, Head, Center for Asian Studies, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies, National University of Malaysia

Moderator: John Seaman, Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri

DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2021

East Asia’s evolving regional trade architecture
09:15 - 10:45 Paris CET

Topics of discussion:

• Assessment of regional trade arrangements (CPTPP and RCEP) and the changing nature of trade in East Asia.
• Competing trade strategies of major regional powers and how Taiwan and South Korea find their place.
• Impact of regional trade agreements on the evolution of the global trade architecture.

Speakers:

• Deborah Elms, Founder and Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre
• Taeho Bark, President, Lee & Ko Global Commerce Institute, Emeritus Professor, GSIS, Seoul National University, and former Trade Minister, Republic of Korea
• Roy Chun Lee, Associate Research Fellow and Senior Deputy Executive Director, Taiwan WTO and RTA Center, Chung Hua Institution for Economic Research

Moderator: Françoise Nicolas, Director, Senior Economist, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri

Restructuring value chains in East Asia: myths and realities
11:00 - 12:30 Paris CET

Topics of discussion:

• Analysis of strategies to reorganize supply chains and re-shore industries.
• Value-chain decoupling: myths and realites.
• Nationalization VS regional re-organization of value chains.
• What key industries are experiencing significant industrial and geopolitical competition and movement on supply chain reorganization?

Speakers:

• Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Chief Economist for the Asia-Pacific, Natixis and Senior Fellow, Bruegel
• Fukunari Kimura, Chief Economist, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Professor, Keio University
• Jayant Menon, Visiting Senior Fellow, ISEAS, former Lead Economist, Asian Development Bank

Moderator: Alice Pannier, Research Fellow, Head, Geopolitics of Technology Program, Ifri