On May 16-18, 2024, the Centre for China Studies (CCS), Faculty of Arts, CUHK successfully hosted the 1st International Symposium on Asia-Europe Development: “Asia in Flux: Network Power, New Regionalism, and Global Development.” Over 20 scholars from around the world (including China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Germany, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Australia, Russia, and Poland) joined the conference, presenting a series of original research papers. We were honored to have Prof. Carole Hoyan (Professor and Interim Director, Centre for China Studies, CUHK) deliver the opening remarks. Prof. Liu Hong (Tan Lark Sye Chair Professor in Public Policy and Global Affairs at the School of Social Sciences, Associate Vice President, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), and Prof. Shen Wei (Qiushi Distinguished Chair Professor, Zhejiang University; European Union Jean Monnet Chair) delivered the keynote address.
Asia’s rapid growth since the conclusion of World War Two is nothing short of miraculous. It started with the extraordinary progress of Japan in the 1950s and 1960s, followed by the first-tier Asian tiger economies (i.e. Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea). These economies have radically uplifted their productive capabilities and captured increasingly more value-added from the globalization of trade and investment, attaining high income status in the space of mere decades. In more recent decades, China has achieved remarkable economic catch-up, transforming itself to be the world’s second largest economy and largest trading nation. Other Asian economies also witnessed progress, albeit to varying extents. The end result sees global gross domestic product (GDP) gravity shifting incrementally towards Asia, generating profound, wide-ranging implications to the international economic order. The advent of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 has created new opportunities for various Asian economies, not least those directly bordering China.
In this context, how has Asian regionalization fared since the 2000s, and especially since the BRI’s inception? To what extent has the BRI reconfigured pre-existing networks as well as stimulated newer ones? How flexible (or rigid) has Asian regionalization become following China’s increasingly pivotal role in the global arena? Does Asia’s experience bear any resemblance to that of the EU, oft-considered the ‘gold standard’ of regional integration? What are the opportunities and constraints facing both the region as well as the respective national economies?
This conference has addressed these questions by grounding them along three interlinked themes – trade/production regimes, financial flows, and sociocultural networks. These three themes help to sharpen our conceptualization on how region-building has taken place, in addition to its future directions. The conference is organized by Prof. Li Chen (Associate Professor, Centre for China Studies, CUHK）in collaboration with Prof. Liu Hong (Tan Lark Sye Chair Professor in Public Policy and Global Affairs at the School of Social Sciences, Associate Vice President, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) and Prof. Guanie Lim (Associate Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan).
We express our sincere appreciation to all the esteemed scholars and participants who contributed to the success of the symposium. Their valuable insights and expertise greatly enriched the event and fostered productive discussions. We look forward to continued collaboration with these distinguished experts in the future, and we strive to further enhance academic and policy research on Asia-Europe development and promote international dialogue.
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