Brief Reflection on LAWAC Future of Asia Conference 2017
September 15, 2017
Last Friday, Ms. Diederich, Ian, and I attended the L.A. World Affairs Council’s Future of Asia Conference. Held at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, the Conference hosted an incredible group of speakers, panelists, and attendees from all over the world. We were able to listen to many fascinating presentations; two of my personal favorites were a panel on Xi Jinping and one on China as a leader of global trade.
Leading China: Xi Jinping
Since we arrived late to the event (blame L.A. traffic), this was actually the first panel we attended, and it certainly set a high bar for the rest of the day. Moderated by John Pomfret, acclaimed Washington Post journalist and author of two books on China, the discussion featured insights on General Secretary Xi’s leadership strategies from Willy Wo-Lap Lam (professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Richard McGregor (China expert and author of The Party). Coincidentally, I had read excerpts from Mr. McGregor’s book in my political science class in China, and was especially pleased to get the chance to speak with him after his presentation.
China Leading Global Trade?
This panel, which discussed China’s role in international trade, was a must-see for me, as I’m very interested in both China and economics on a global level. As I listened to speakers like Ruan Zongze (EVP at the China Institute of International Studies) and Wendy Cutler (VP and MD at the Asia Society Policy Institute) analyze trade deals from the TPP to the Belt and Road Initiative, I was struck by the level of detail and precision with which questions were answered. This discussion left me with both new knowledge and new questions.
Closing Thoughts
When we left the conference, I began to reflect on this singular experience. The most salient thing I took away was this: despite how much knowledge and expertise was present that night, there’s so much left unknown, and one difficult overarching question left unanswered. What exactly will the future of Asia look like? Of course, it’s impossible to predict. We can make educated guesses and assumptions, but, in the end, all of us will just have to wait and see.
