Annual Conference of Ifri's Center for Asian and Indo-Pacific Studies

As strategic competition becomes an increasingly dominant feature of the international system today, the “de-risking” of interdependent economic ties has emerged as a new mantra for managing geopolitical uncertainty. Once kept at arm’s length, the fields of economics and security are increasingly being pulled together to create both new levers of influence and tools with which to bolster resilience. Across East Asia, North America and Europe, new strategies to enhance economic security have surfaced in recent years, framing the policy debate and shaping economic interactions. What does “economic security” mean for key actors in these regions? How will East Asia’s regional economic order and its central role in global value chains be affected? What ambitions does the United States harbor in this domain and how does Europe’s own strategy impact its relations with East Asian partners?  

Opening remarks
09:30-09:50 CEST

• Thomas GOMART, Director, Ifri
• François Chih-chung WU, Representative, Taipei Representative Office in France

Economic Security in the 21st Century
09:50-10:20 CEST

• Mei-hua WANG, Minister of Economic Affairs, Taiwan (virtual)

Moderated by Françoise NICOLAS, Director, Center for Asian and Indo-Pacific Studies, Ifri

Coffee break
10:20-10:30

East Asian Approaches to Economic Security: Toward a new paradigm of regional economic order?  
10:30-12:20 CEST

• Henry GAO, Professor of Law, Singapore Management University
• Kristy Tsun-Tzu HSU, Director, Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center, Chung-hua Institution of Economic Research
• Seungjoo LEE, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Chung-Ang University
• Kazuto SUZUKI, Director & Group Head, Economic Security, Institute of Geoeconomics, International House of Japan (virtual)

Chaired by Françoise NICOLAS, Director, Center for Asian and Indo-Pacific Studies, Ifri

Lunch break
12:20-14:00

How does the U.S. approach to economic security shape its role in East Asia?
14:00-15:15 CEST

• Kurt CAMPBELL, Deputy Assistant to the President, Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, National Security Council of the United States (virtual)
• Emily BENSON, Director, Project on Trade and Technology, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
• Discussant: Mathilde VELLIET, Research Fellow, Geopolitics of Technology Program, Ifri

Chaired by John SEAMAN, Research Fellow, Center for Asian and Indo-Pacific Studies, Ifri

Coffee break
15:15-15:30

Europe’s Economic Security Strategy and its Impact on Relations with East Asia
15:30-17:00 CEST

• Denis REDONNET, Deputy Director General, DG Trade, European Commission (virtual)
• Luisa SANTOS, Deputy Director General, Business Europe (TBC)
• Sébastien JEAN, Senior Associate, Ifri, Professor, CNAM

Chaired by Marie KRPATA, Research Fellow, Study Committee for Franco-German Relations, Ifri

The conference will take place in hybrid format and in English – simultaneously at Ifri (Paris) and in virtual space . All times are listed in Paris time (CEST).