Category: Economic Relations

Regional Differences Undermine Abe and Modi’s Efforts

During the second week of December 2015, Japan and India held one of their more productive annual summit meetings in recent memory in New Delhi. Breaking the pattern of high atmospherics and shallow content that has characterised Japan-India interactions over the past half-decade, prime ministers Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi signed agreements on civil nuclear cooperation, defence equipment and technology transfer, protection of classified military information exchanges and high-speed rail cooperation.

Monetary Policy is not the only European-U.S. Divergence

The trajectories of the monetary policy at the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are diverging.  It is the keystone of our anticipation of further euro weakness in the year ahead.  In addition to this monetary divergence, a geopolitical divergence will be of growing significance.

Asia’s Lesson for Africa on Global Supply Chains

At this week’s 10th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, trade ministers are trying to advance 15 years of Doha Development Agenda talks to reduce trade barriers. The real issue, however, is whether African economies can follow East Asia’s success in global supply chains amid “new normal” growth and rising inequality.

Japan’s Relationship with India is Slowly Growing

India–Japan ties have never been as strong as they are today. The trajectory of upward swings began a decade ago and has accelerated in the last few years. But the newfound chemistry between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi has taken the relationship to new heights.

Japan Railroaded out of Indonesia

In 2015, China outbid Japan for the first high-speed rail project in Indonesia, reflecting Beijing’s eagerness to realise its 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative. So what does this signify for the Asia Pacific region?

Indonesia made a big and highly significant decision to award China rather than Japan the Jakarta–Bandung high-speed rail project, expected to start construction in early 2016. Jakarta had a dilemma: should it choose between a trusted old friend (Japan) or a new emerging power (China)?

One Belt, One Road, Big Ambition

China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative is an incredibly ambitious undertaking — and perhaps Beijing is only starting to realise just how ambitious.

Can Eastern Asia Benefit from the Trilateral Summit?

On 1 November 2015, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye convened in Seoul, South Korea for the Sixth Trilateral Summit. The meeting was the first after political and historical disputes led to a three-year hiatus, of what was supposed to be an annual summit. At the 1 November summit, the leaders issued a joint declaration announcing that trilateral cooperation had been ‘completely restored’ and pledged to resolutely sustain such cooperation.

To Coexist: India and China

Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao paid a high-profile visit to India from 3–7 November 2015. This was the first time that a Chinese Vice President paid a state visit to India. The visit followed two other high profile events: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India in September 2014 and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reciprocal visit to China in May 2015. What explains these recent burgeoning relations between these two former adversaries?