Best of three scenarios for world trade

Author: Razeen Sally, NUS 

International trade is in trouble after the global financial crisis and, with the new Trump administration, the world faces a protectionist onslaught. As a result, there are three ways that international trade can go from here — one considerably ‘more likely’ than the other two. Read more…

Another pivot for Vietnam
Labourers work to make Zara jackets at a garment factory in Bac Giang province, near Hanoi 21 October 2015. Vietnam's textiles and footwear would have gained strongly from the TPP, after exports of US$31 billion in 2014 for brands such as Nike, Adidas, H&M, Gap, Zara, Armani and Lacoste. (Photo: Reuters/Kham)

Author: Thomas Jandl, VNU

One year ago in this series, I argued that 2016 would be crucial for bringing domestic political structures in line with Vietnam’s new position in the global economic and security architecture. After the US election, Vietnam is in need of new and better advice. Vietnam needs to make its own pivot. Read more…

Shinzo Abe’s Australia visit a strategic opportunity
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during a joint news conference at the Akasaka Palace state guesthouse in Tokyo (Photo: Reuters/Koji Sasahara).

Author: Shiro Armstrong, ANU

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Sydney this weekend in a quick trip to shore up Australian support in the uncertain world of President Donald Trump. The visit comes months earlier than originally planned, with Trump’s inauguration injecting its urgency. Read more…

Why is the TPP facing headwinds in the United States?
Delegates hold anti-Trans-Pacific Partnership signs during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. 27 July, 2016. (Photo: Reuters/Scott Audette).

Author: Charles R. Hankla, Georgia State University

If the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is not yet politically dead in the United States, it certainly seems to be on life support. Read more…

Three relationships for RCEP members to ponder
Leaders of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries meet in Beijing, 10 November 2014. Today, the kinds of criticism that burdened TPP negotiations are being applied to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque).

Author: He Ping, Fudan University

Over the last few years, negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have provoked waves of criticism and suspicion in the Asia Pacific. Read more…

Is the Chinese economy closed?
A man looks at products of Smithfield, acquired by Shuanghui, on display at a news conference on the company's annual results in Hong Kong, China, 29 March 2016. (Photo: Reuters).

Author: David Dollar, Brookings

China is unusual in that it is a developing country that has emerged as a major investor. China itself is an important destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), and opening to the outside world has been an important part of its reform program since 1978. Read more…

Asia’s next growth frontier

Author: Peter Drysdale, ANU

The steady state in the Asian region is growth and dynamism that requires continuous structural change and adjustment. The trajectory of China’s potential rate of growth is certainly 2 or 3 percentage points lower than it was a decade ago, but even at around 6 per cent over the coming decade the massive Chinese economy can still grow at two to three times the rate of the world economy as a whole. Read more…

Next Page »