Strategic Trust-Building

On July 30, the EastWest Institute (EWI) hosted a Chinese delegation of 15 distinguished scholars led by Ambassador Zhenhong Qi, president of the China Institute of International Studies—the think-tank arm of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The roundtable featured key policymakers and scholars from various parts of China with diverse expertise in macroeconomics, international affairs, cybersecurity, education, cross-strait relations and Asian studies. EWI’s President and CEO Dr. William Parker led the workshop to seek concrete steps to ease current U.S.-China tensions. Expert participants from the EWI delegation included Executive Vice President Bruce McConnell and Senior Associate of the Asia-Pacific program Zoe Leung.

Participants delved into a list of issues of mutual concern to both the United States and China, as well as steps to improve mutual understanding by deescalating bilateral tensions and building trust. Of particular note was a discussion on how U.S.-Taiwan relations and recent China-Russia joint military exercises inform public and official perceptions in both countries. The group also exchanged views on the role of media in the U.S.-China relationship and how offering Chinese and American journalists exposure to observe constructive Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues help introduce more diverse and nuanced perspectives into the public discourse.

This roundtable discussion is part of EWI’s continued efforts to facilitate substantive exchanges with policy influencers and formulate concrete suggestions on practical ways ahead in these challenging times in bilateral relations. To that end, the Asia-Pacific program has been engaging key stakeholders from government, military, academia and business sectors. These ongoing exchanges enhance EWI’s work to promote dialogue and find solutions to intractable global issues.

Valued at $62 billion, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a focal point of the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s ambitious undertaking to enhance connectivity between Asia, Europe, and Africa. CPEC promises to create economic prosperity by turning Gwadar, Pakistan, into a trade hub that links China to the rest of Asia and Europe. However, with Pakistan’s economy suffering and in the midst of a bailout by the International Monetary Fund, Islamabad has been more carefully scrutinizing CPEC’s affordability. Pakistan has been coming to terms with the massive, unsustainable amount of Chinese loans it has taken to implement these projects.

Six years into this initiative, Beijing is beginning to acknowledge the growing international criticism about its distortive lending practices, and it is pledging to instill a greater level of openness, transparency, and sustainability. The Chinese government is taking steps to not only help Pakistan, which has been dubbed its “all-weather friend,” to restore its economic balance, but also to realize the true promise of CPEC.

Click here to read the full article on RealClearWorld. 

On June 4-5, 2019, the EastWest Institute (EWI) convened the fourth meeting of the Joint U.S.-Russia Working Group on Counterterrorism in Afghanistan in Vienna, Austria. Against a backdrop of dynamic changes in Afghanistan, American and Russian experts came together to assess major developments in the bilateral relationship, as well as the current security and political situation in Afghanistan, and consider the implications for joint counterterrorism efforts going forward.

Specific topics discussed also included border management concerns; methods of terrorism recruitment and the process by which radicalization takes place; and the role of economic development in contributing to a safe and stable Afghanistan. In the framework of the meeting, Ambassador Thomas Greminger, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), addressed the Working Group, speaking on regional approaches to counterterrorism in Central Asia and Afghanistan. Representatives from the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna and the National Defence Academy’s Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management were also present to share their perspectives.

Since 2017, the Working Group has aimed to generate positive momentum in the U.S.-Russia relationship and drive much-needed dialogue, specifically with respect to counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan.

Supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Working Group previously convened in Moscow, Washington, D.C. and Brussels. These deliberations laid the foundation for the Working Group’s forthcoming report, a joint threat assessment, which will provide policymakers with an independent, up-to-date assessment of the terrorist threat in Afghanistan and serve as the basis for future counterterrorism cooperation. The report is expected to be released in Fall 2019.

Click here to read Ambassador Greminger's opening remarks.

Image Credit: Anna Renard-Koktysh

On April 30, something historic will happen in Japan. Sitting Emperor Akihito will step down and relinquish his title. His elder son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will take the throne. The transition will mark the first imperial succession in modern Japanese history that is not the result of a death. Akihito first made his desire to retire public during a rare video message in the summer of 2016. He noted that his advanced age (he is currently 85 years old) has made it difficult for him to fulfill his responsibilities. The next year, Japan’s Diet passed a bill permitting the emperor to abdicate.

Officials and representatives from over 190 countries have been invited to mark the occasion—and the vast changes that have transformed Japan since 1989, when Akihito became emperor after his father, Emperor Hirohito (known posthumously as Emperor Showa), died. When Akihito took the reins, Japan’s economy was the second-largest in the world behind the United States’. While the economy fell from that peak during his tenure, the Japanese people remained largely wealthy—with a greater quality of life as the years passed by. Life expectancy, for example, remains among the highest in the world.

Click here to read the full article on Foreign Policy.