Global Economies

Participants discussed the importance of improved bi-lateral relations and the formation of a common EU policy towards Russia. Peter Mandelson, the Commissioner of the European Union for Trade, stated that "both parties should seek to make these relations bigger than any individual issue". The conference was attended by more than 300 people.

Participants crafted approaches to avoiding further deterioration of EU-Russia relations and outlined roles for the Russian-Western European Diaspora.

On October 1-2, 2007, EWI co-sponsored the first European-Russian Forum in Brussels. Held in the European Parliament headquarters, the Forum was attended by more than 150 representatives of the Russian-speaking community living outside Russia in Europe as well as high-level Russian and EU officials, MPs, foreign policy experts, religious leaders and entrepreneurs. The two-day series of plenary sessions and workshops crafted approaches to avoiding further deterioration of EU-Russia relations and outlined key roles for the 10 million Russian-Western European diaspora in facilitating strategic partnership between the European Union and the Russian Federation.

On the first day of the Forum, EWI’s Founder, President and CEO John Edwin Mroz presented his views on Russia’s capacity to play a role of a major problem-solver in multilateral cooperation in Europe to address the 21st security challenges such as political radicalization, violent extremism and terrorism, energy, migration issues, cross-border cultural gaps and regional conflicts. He specifically highlighted the Russian G-8 initiative on public-private partnerships to counter terrorism and the need to further promote specific model projects in this area such as “countering of precious metals trafficking” advanced by Norilsk Nickel company, “global remittances” led by Citigroup and others.

EWI’s upcoming 5th Worldwide Security Conference in February 2008 at the World Customs Organization is EWI's next milestone in making such initiatives a vital part of its worldwide security network.

EWI's Ortwin Hennig, Greg Austin and Vladimir Ivanov served as panelists for the workshop on “EU-Russia Political Dialogue and Security Priorities in Europe” and presented EWI’s experience and recommendations for global security and conflict prevention issues.

The recommendations resulting from the Forum will be submitted to Russian and European government officials ahead of the EU-Russia Summit scheduled for the end of October in Portugal. Forum participants agreed to set up permanent expert groups, under the aegis of the European-Russian Forum, to tackel political dialogue and security issues, as well as the protection of human rights, migration, economic cooperation and to help consolidate Russian-speaking communities. EWI will be an active player in theese working groups, engaging the Forum and its participants in order to broaden its worldwide security network.

Representatives from the energy sector, governments, international energy organizations and academia examined paths toward improved trans-border energy cooperation in the South Caspian region.

An Energy Community for the South Caspian Region: New Benefits for Regional Players *1

EWI and the Madariaga European Foundation (MEF) convened a half-day experts meeting in London on September 27, 2007, to promote the idea of improved and efficient trans-border energy cooperation in the South Caspian region. The regional players are already involved to some extent in multilateral energy frameworks such as the Energy Charter Treaty of the Energy Community. *2  The organizers believe that there is a need to create new institutional mechanisms in addition to those provided by the Energy Charter Treaty. These mechanisms should link Turkey and other regional players and bring together disparate national interests into a coherent set of acceptable rules. Important external players such as the US, the EU, Russia and China share a common interest in preventing the Caspian Basin from becoming another “oil curse” region where windfalls in oil revenues might fuel instability and extremism. Another mutually unacceptable scenario is one in which a single player becomes dominant in the South Caspian region.*3  Moreover, all actors are interested in the advancement of regional economic development and political stability.

The event, sponsored by Hydro (www.hydro.com), gathered approximately 60 representatives from the energy sector, governments, international energy organizations and academia. Participants will discuss the shape of a future “energy community” in the South Caspian region and propose specific policy “road maps” for the major players. In this context, the meeting will also address: 1) Prospects for regional trans-border energy cooperation, especially in the areas of power generation, alternative sources of energy and new transit corridors for hydrocarbons; and 2) The creation of regional legally binding energy security frameworks utilizing structures already in place (European Energy Community, IEA, the IEF, etc).

MEETING OUTCOME

The meeting will produce a conference report as well as a policy paper outlining the launch of a new joint EWI-MEF energy security project proposing possible recommendations for the creation of a regional legally binding energy cooperation framework.

*1 For the purposes of this seminar we limited the South Caspian region to Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan plus Turkey and Georgia.

*2 See http://www.encharter.org/ Of the South Caspian states, Turkey is the only member of the Energy Community, http://www.seerecon.org/infrastructure/sectors/energy/

On December 8 and 9, the EastWest Institute and the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) convened their third annual Trialogue21 meeting of public and private sector leaders from China, Europe and the United States in Washington, DC.  More than 40 representatives from government, business, academia, think tanks and civil society attended the meeting, which was followed by a special session co-sponsored by the World Bank on global efforts to strengthen and develop the world economy.

The meetings took place at a critical juncture for the international community and the Trialogue21 process. A new U.S. administration is a month away. The world is battling a financial crisis and reevaluating the global financial architecture. China-EU relations have soured in the wake of China’s cancellation of the EU-China financial summit. And China, in the 30th year of its economic liberalization process, is confronting fundamental development challenges while attempting to meet global expectations of its role as a rising power. As the world grapples with this period of change and uncertainty, it is essential that China, the EU, and the U.S. coordinate their responses to common threats and opportunities.

Key Issues Addressed:

• How can we best manage the China-Europe-U.S. trilateral relationship?
• What are the specific potential areas of strategic cooperation for the three powers in international peace, security, and financial stability?
• What opportunities and challenges does China face after 30 years of liberalization and reform?
• How can China, Europe, the U.S., and the rest of the international community work together to address global economic challenges?

Key Recommendations:

Trialogue21

Trialogue21 participants had varying views on China’s integration with the international economic community, its role as a global power, its relationship with Europe, and the new U.S. administration’s relations with China and Europe. But all agreed that that the China-Europe-U.S. trilateral relationship is mutually beneficial, politically necessary, and strategically significant. Participants laid out the following recommendations to more effectively manage the trilateral relationship:

• The EU and China must define a roadmap and take a series of reciprocal steps over a two-year period to manage their strategic relationship, especially in the wake of tensions over Tibet and China’s cancellation of the China-EU financial summit.
• All three powers must develop a framework for continued dialogue at all levels that is based on trust, confidence and an acceptance of cultural differences, not political ideology or Cold War thought. 
• All sides have significant roles to play in areas of common concern, including weapons of mass destruction, counterterrorism, countering violent extremism, cyberterrorism, refugee movement, food security, and energy and environmental security. These concerns demand cooperation and a new, post-partisan thinking on all sides.
• Europe and the U.S. need to accurately evaluate China’s development challenges and understand China’s concerns about its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
• All three parties should engage the G-20 to redefine the global financial architecture.
• China must have a greater presence in the global media so that Chinese opinions and perceptions are better communicated.

Special Session: “Moving Forward with Global Efforts to Develop the World Economy”

The focus of this session was Chinese President Hu Jintao’s four-point proposal on sustainable global economic development that he presented to the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change at the July 2008 G-8 summit in Japan.  His proposal, which he echoed at the G-20 financial summit in November 2008, advocated a sustainable world economic system, an inclusive and orderly international financial system, a fair and equitable international trade regime, and a fair and effective global development system.  Participants at the session were in general agreement with the proposal.  An international panel of speakers from business, academia and think tanks made a number of specific recommendations in the four areas, including:

• Greater influence for developing countries in global economic affairs.
• A more comprehensive, balanced, incremental and result-oriented system for international financial reform.
• Greater attention to the allocation of food, energy, and other resources as tools to create a sustainable economy.
• Review of conventional thought on bilateral preferential trade agreements and whether they aid or hinder the multilateral free trade system.
• Encouragement of private philanthropy to complement official development assistance in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals despite the financial crisis.

EastWest Institute Next Steps:

In cooperation with CIIS, EWI will now:

• Publish the first tri-annual report for Trialogue21, which will review the key outcomes of the first three Trialogue21 meetings and set milestones for the future development of this dialogue initiative.
• Publish a conference report on the special session, “Moving Forward with Global Efforts to Develop the World Economy.”
• Issue joint publications and place op-ed articles by Chinese, European and American authors on critical issues requiring trilateral cooperation.
• Convey key discussion points and recommendations to policymakers in the China, Europe, and the U.S., including the new US administration.

EWI and the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), the think tank of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, held the second meeting of their Trialogue21 initiative in Beijing.  Trialogue21 is a multi-year initiative that was launched in 2006 by the two institutes to bring together top emerging leaders from the United States, Europe, and China to clarify perceptions, build trust, and identify areas of cooperation on global issues. 

In Beijing, nearly 40 private and public sector leaders from the three regions engaged in off-the-record discussions that explored a new framework for cooperation in promoting energy security, addressing the challenges of globalization, confronting security issues in the Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa, and managing China's development, and its relations with the United States and European Union. 

The next Trialogue21 meeting will be held in Washington, DC in December 2008. This meeting will seek further policy recommendations for the international community against the backdrop of an incoming new administration in the United States.

EWI recently held its first Board of Directors meeting in China, engaging in a series of meetings and activities in Beijing and Qingdao from November 5-9, 2007. This was EWI’s first Board meeting in Asia, and the choice of China as the location for this historic meeting underscores EWI’s commitment to engaging fully with China as a partner in promoting world peace and security. While in Beijing, members of EWI’s Board met with senior Chinese government officials, including State Councilor and former Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan. Councilor Tang received an EWI delegation at Zhongnanhai and discussed China’s relations with the United States and Europe, cooperation on energy security, and the nuclear situation in Iran.

The EWI Board also visited the China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), where Mr. Xu Kuangdi, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC’s National Committee and former mayor of Shanghai, briefed the visiting delegation on key outcomes of the recent 17th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. In addition, EWI’s Board had a robust exchange of views with Chinese, American, and European experts on issues relating to globalization and energy security at two EWI seminars in Beijing. In Qingdao, the EWI delegation met with Qingdao Vice Mayor Hu Shaojun.

Experts examined ways NGOs can influence energy security issues in the Asia-Pacific region, including stable supply and demand and protection of energy infrastructure.

Recognizing the rising importance of energy security in the Asia-Pacific region, the EastWest Institute (EWI) and the Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia (ERINA), in conjunction with the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, held an Experts Meeting for the “Joint Project on Energy Security in Asia” at the Center for Global Partnership (CGP) in New York City. A diverse group of experts gathered to examine key energy security issues in the Asia-Pacific region and discuss ways in which NGOs can make a difference. “Security” was addressed both in terms of the stability of supply and demand in the global energy market and as protection of production and transport infrastructure. The meeting addressed competition among major powers in the Asia-Pacific region for scarce hydrocarbon resource and key challenges to the security of energy supplies in this region. The underlying goal was to define discussion topics for upcoming EWI-ERINA joint roundtables on energy security in the Asia-Pacific region.