Asia's New Pivot

While both Asia and the Middle East have traditionally looked to the United States as their most significant economic and security partner, this dynamic is changing. Trade between China and the Middle East surged by a staggering 600 percent from 2000 to 2014, largely driven by increasing energy demands. Similarly, Indian exports to Gulf Cooperation Council countries have nearly doubled over the past decade.

A new special website from the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) uses a range of interactives and data visualizations to examine the emerging ties between major countries in Asia and the Middle East.

“Going forward, it is clear that both regions will increasingly look toward the other to achieve their strategic priorities,” said Anubhav Gupta, ASPI Associate Director and one of the project authors. “We will be tracking these developments and will be able to provide data-backed analysis on how these relationships are changing.”

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

U.S. and China Face Off in a Technology Cold War

Ever since the U.S. placed sanctions on Chinese tech giant Huawei over security concerns in May, many have wondered what the long term impact will be on global technology. With the U.S.-China trade war dragging on, both countries have spoken of deepening that divide. China has threatened a firewall, vowing to keep its technologies out of the hands of “certain countries.” The U.S. has pushed the U.K. and other allies to join its efforts in pressing Huawei.

Is this the start of a technology cold war? Will the global supply chain splinter, forcing the rest of the world to choose sides? These were some of the questions panelists tackled last week on a special broadcast for Bloomberg held in collaboration with Asia Society.

“Limitations and prohibitions are ultimately going to fail. It’s very, very difficult to contain technology,” predicted Ken Wilcox, Asia Society Northern California Chairman. “It crosses borders, it crosses walls. There is no viable containment.”

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ASIA 21

Introducing the Class of 2019

Asia Society is delighted to present the 2019 class of our Asia 21 Young Leaders program, an unparalleled network of accomplished young professionals from across the Asia-Pacific region, representing the new generation of leaders in government, business, arts, media, and the nonprofit sector.

Among this year’s Asia 21 Young Leaders are Megha Rajagopalan, a 2018 winner of a Human Rights Press Award and an international correspondent for BuzzFeed News; Esra’a Al Shafei, who founded a network of online platforms to represent marginalized communities in Bahrain; Van Ngoc Ta, chief lawyer at a Vietnamese charity that rescues children in crisis and the first-ever recipient of Thomson Reuters Foundation’s “Trust Women Anti-Trafficking Hero Award”; Maryam Al-Subaiey, a women’s rights advocate from Qatar, who develops local talents in the creative industry and recently became the first female jockey to participate in the Emir’s Cup; and Farhad Wajdi, who helped build a school in a refugee camp in Pakistan at the age of 14 and later founded a nonprofit organization that challenges gender inequality in Afghanistan.

Made up of 39 visionary leaders from 31 countries, this year’s class includes activists, artists, educators, journalists, scientists, and social entrepreneurs.

Meet the Class

UPCOMING EVENTS

On August 15, Hong Kong legislators Dennis Kwok and Alvin Yeung will be speaking in New York on the historic protests sparking the city. Learn more here.
On August 19, Weijian Shan, author of the national bestseller Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America will be speaking at Wallis Annenberg Hall in Los Angeles at an event hosted by Asia Society Southern California. A day later, he will appear at Sidley Austin LLC, in Palo Alto with Asia Society Northern California.
Following the last three years’ sold-out programs at Asia Society Texas Center, the famed multiphonic singers of Tibet’s Drepung Loseling Monastery return to perform Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing on Saturday, August 17 in Houston. Details here.

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Asia Society relies on the generosity of its friends and members to support its mission of strengthening relationships and promoting understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States.