East Asia Forum: Economic (dis)integration

The Center for East Asia Macroeconomic studies was part of a UK-German consortium that organised the first East Asia Forum on Economic (dis-)integration, which took place at the University of Westminster (London, UK) on Friday 14, 2019. Alongside CEAMeS the Institute of East Asian Studies from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, the Westminster Business School and Contemporary China Centre from the University of Westminster were part of that consortium.

Greater global interconnection versus nationalism and isolation – in this field of tension the workshop explored economic issues and challenges. The current trade dispute between China and the administration of US-president Donald Trump, as well as the Belt and Road Initiative, a global development strategy adopted by the Chinese government, which involves infrastructure developments and investments in about 152 countries, were two of the main topics considered.

After the third CEAMeS Workshop in May, it was the second event CEAMeS (co-) organized this year. According to Professor Hans-Jörg Schmerer, who represented CEAMeS at the forum in London, this is the future path the Center should take; he emphasized, “Presenting your own research in front of others is crucial for academic success”.

Co-host Dr Karen Jackson, from the University of Westminster praised the diverse group of researcher who attended the forum: “We are very grateful to all the delegates who joined us from across Europe, some old friends and also new acquaintances.” All in all, speakers gathered from the London School of Economics (UK), University of Gothenburg (Sweden), University of Duisburg-Essen, University of Wuppertal, Heidelberg University, FernUniversität in Hagen (all Germany), Aston University (Birmingham, UK), Lazarski University (Warsaw, Poland) and the University of Portsmouth (UK).

So, the event in London brought together an excellent array of scholars from all fields related to international economics focused on drivers and consequences of trade between China and the rest of the world. A highlight of the forum was the keynote speech from Professor Kerry Brown from the King’s College in London. He is a leading international expert on China and previously worked as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing.