Asia Policy Events, Monday November 10, 2025

TRANS-PACIFIC SUSTAINABILITY DIALOGUE 2025: SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES. 11/10-11/11, 9:00am-6:00pm (PHST), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsors: Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University; Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future. Speakers: Kiyoteru Tsutsui, Director, Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) and APARC’s Japan Program, Stanford University; Arsenio M. Balisacan, Secretary, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development, Republic of the Philippines; Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General, United Nations; Chairman, Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future, and more.

THE 21ST KOREA-MIDDLE EAST COOPERATION FORUM: A PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY. 11/10, 10:00am-5:30pm (AST), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsors: Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council); Korea Arab Society (KAS); Jeju Peace Institute (JPI). Speakers: Dr. Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad, Minister of State for International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State of Qatar; Dr. Cho Hyun, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea; Dr. Khalid Al-Jaber, Director, Middle East Council on Global Affairs; Young Hoon Kang, President, Jeju Peace Institute; Ahmed Al-Rumaihi, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State of Qatar; Dr. Waleed Siam, Ambassador, Permanent General Mission of Palestine to South Korea and Japan; Woong-Yeob Song, Former Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan; and more.

THE STATE OF TAIWAN: WHAT'S NEXT AFTER THE TRUMP-XI MEETING? 11/10, 9:00-10:30am (EST), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Bonny Lin, Director, China Power Project, Senior Fellow, Asian Security, CSIS; Dan Blumenthal, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Bonnie Glaser, Managing Director, Indo-Pacific Program, German Marshall Fund; I-Chung Lai, President, Prospect Foundation; Ryo Sahashi, Professor, University of Tokyo.

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT ON CHINA: EU APPROACHES AND TRANSATLANTIC COOPERATION. 11/10, 10:00am (EST), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Global China Hub; Europe Center, Atlantic Council. Speakers: Jörn Fleck, Senior Director, Europe Center, Atlantic Council; The Hon. John Moolenaar, United States Representative (R-MI-02); Zoltán Fehér, Nonresident Fellow, Global China Hub, Atlantic Council; Michael Laha, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology, DGAP; Jacqueline Ramos, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, US Department of State, Valbona Zeneli, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Europe Center, Atlantic Council; Moderator: Melanie Hart, Senior Director, Global China Hub, Atlantic Council.

LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER KĘSTUTIS BUDRYS ON NATO, ENERGY SECURITY, AND EUROPE-CHINA RELATIONS. 11/10, 2:30-3:30pm (EST), HYBRID. Sponsor: Hudson Institute. Speakers: Kęstutis Budrys, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lithuania; Marshall Billingslea, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute.

Monday Asia Events, March 21, 2022

CHINA, RUSSIA, AND UKRAINE WITH KEVIN RUDD. 3/21, 9:00-9:45am (EDT), LIVE ONLINE. Sponsor: Carnegie Endowment. Speaker: Kevin Rudd, former Australian Prime Minister, Head, Asia Society; Moderator: Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment. 

THE FREE WORLD RALLIES BEHIND UKRAINE—WILL IT BE ENOUGH? 3/21, 9:30am (EDT), ONLINE. Speakers: Melinda Haring, deputy director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council; Michael Bociurkiw, nonresident senior fellow, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council; Ambassador Oleh Shamshur, nonresident senior fellow, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council, former Ukrainian ambassador to the United States and France; Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, Distinguished Fellow, Atlantic Council, former Deputy Secretary General, NATO; Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Distinguished Fellow, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council, former Minister of Defense of Ukraine. 

ECONOMY DISRUPTED: THE VIEW FROM FORT WORTH. 3/21, 10:00-11:00am (EDT), WEBCAST. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Mattie Parker, Mayor, Fort Worth; Moderators: Matthew P. Goodman, Senior Vice President, Economics; Sarah Ladislaw, Senior Associate (Non-resident), Energy Security and Climate Change Program. 

THE FUTURE OF US ENERGY PRODUCTION: A CONVERSATION WITH SEN. BILL CASSIDY. 3/21, Noon-1:00pm (EDT), WEBINAR. Sponsor: Hudson. Speakers: Dr. Bill Cassidy, U.S. Senator from Louisiana; Thomas J. Duesterberg, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute. 

CHINA'S PATHWAY TO DECARBONIZATION. 3/21, Noon-1:00pm (EDT), WEBINAR. Sponsor: Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School. Speakers: Henry Lee, Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Program and Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School; Daniel Schrag, Co-Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, Harvard University. 

LOOKING FOR THE GOOD WAR: AMERICAN AMNESIA AND THE VIOLENT PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. 3/21, 4:00-5:30pm (EDT), ZOOM. Sponsors: History and Public Policy Program; Wilson Center. Speaker: author, Elizabeth D. Samet, Professor of English, West Point, Looking for the Good War: American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness.  PURCHASE BOOK

EASING SUPPLY CHAIN BOTTLENECKS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. 3/21, 4:45pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Global Supply Chains Forum, World Trade Organization (WTO). Speakers: Charles (Bud) Darr, Executive Vice President, Maritime Policy and Government Affairs, MSC Group; Clemence Cheng, Managing Director, Europe, Hutchison Ports; Seedy Keita, Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, The Gambia; Rubana Huq, Managing Director, Mohammadi Group; Victoria Claverie, Head of Trade - Europe, Standard Chartered; Kemvichet Long, Ambassador and Chair, Council for Trade in Services; Luz María de la Mora Sánchez, Undersecretary for Foreign Trade, Secretariat of Economy, Mexico; Young Tae Kim, Secretary General, International Transport Forum; Penny Naas, UPS President for International Public Affairs and Sustainability; Ryan Petersen, CEO, Flexport; Geetha Tharmaratnam, CEO & Founding Partner at Aequalitas Capital Partners; Usha Chandnee Dwarka-Canabady, Ambassador and Incoming Chair, Committee on Trade and Development; Moderators: Alan Beattie, Senior Trade Writer, Financial Times; Adva Saldinger, Senior Reporter, Devex. 

THE FTC RULEMAKING AGENDA—DWINDLED INNOVATION THROUGH REGULATION? 3/21, 5:00-5:45pm (EDT), WEBINAR. Sponsor: Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Speakers: D. Bruce Hoffman, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb; Timothy J. Muris, Professor of Law, George Mason University Foundation; Aurelien Portuese, Director, Antitrust and Innovation Policy, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation; Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Partner, Baker Botts. 

ALLIANCES AND THE OUTBREAK OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. 3/21, 6:30-8:00pm (GMT), ONLINE & IN-PERSON, London, UK. Sponsor: IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Speakers: Margaret MacMillan, Engelsberg Chair, IDEAS, LSE, Emeritus Professor, International History, University of Oxford, former Warden, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford; Moderator: Christopher Coker, Director, LSE IDEAS, former Professor, International Relations, LSE. 

CONVERGENCE OR DIVERGENCE?: DECODING THE INDO-PACIFIC STRATEGIES OF CANADA, JAPAN, THE USA, AND EUROPE. 3/21, 7:00-8:30pm (EDT), ONLINE-WEBINAR. Sponsor: Consulate General of Japan in Toronto. Speakers: Akiko Fukushima, Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research; Jonathan T. Fried, Asia Pacific Foundation; Kristi Govella, German Marshall Fund of the United States; Nicolas Véron, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Yves Tiberghien, University of British Columbia; Deanna Horton, University of Toronto. 

RICHARD HAASS IN CONVERSATION WITH PEGGY NOONAN: A WORLD OF GROWING DISARRAY. 3/21, 7:30pm (EDT), ONLINE & IN-PERSON, New York, NY. Sponsor: 92nd Street Y (92Y). Speaker: Dr. Richard Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations; Moderator: Peggy Noonan, Opinion Columnist, Wall Street Journal. fee.

JAPAN'S HIGH-TECH COMPETITIVENESS IN AN ERA OF U.S.-CHINA DECOUPLING. 3/21, 8:00-9:00pm. Sponsor: Harvard University. Speakers: Kazuyuki Motohashi, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo; Moderator: Christina L. Davis, Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Professor of Government, Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. 

RISING CHINA RISKS TO TAIWAN AMID THE WAR IN UKRAINE: WHAT STRATEGY IS NECESSARY FOR THE U.S.-JAPAN ALLIANCE? 3/21, 8:00-10:00pm (EDT), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: Japan Forum on International Relations [N.B.: said to be associated with Worldmate, nationalist Japanese organization]. Speakers: Kamiya Matake, Project Leader, Vice President, JFIR, Professor, National Defense Academy of Japan; Sahashi Ryo, Associate Professor, University of Tokyo; Fukuda Madoka, Professor, Hosei University; Oba Mie, Professor, Kanagawa University; Kotani Tetsuo, Professor, Meikai University; Kawashima Shin, Vice Leader, Japanese Research Team, Distinguished Research Fellow, JFIR, Professor, University of Tokyo; Hosoya Yuichi, Vice Leader, Japanese Research Team, Distinguished Research Fellow, JFIR, Professor, Keio University; Patricia Kim, David M. Rubenstein Fellow, John L. Thornton China Center, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Brookings; Nick Szechenyi, Senior Fellow, Deputy Director, Japan Chair, CSIS; Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Co-Director, Alliance for Securing Democracy; James Schoff, Leader, U.S. Research Team, Senior Director, Sasakawa Peace Foundation. 

IDENTIFYING AND COUNTERING CHINA’S GLOBAL DIGITAL STRATEGY (SEOUL). 3/22, 9:00-10:40am (Seoul), 3/21, 8:00-9:35pm (EDT), WEBINAR. Sponsor: National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS). Speakers: Joonkoo Yoo, Research Professor, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security; Emily de la Bruyère, Non-resident Fellow, National Bureau of Asian Research; Karen Sutter, Senior Analyst, U.S.-China trade, investment, and economic issues; HyoYoung Lee, Assistant Professor, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security; JinBaek Choi, Research Professor, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security; Nigel Cory, Associate Director, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation; Alison Szalwinski, Vice President of Research, National Bureau of Asian Research. 

Why China's Central Bank is not independent

Zhou Xiaochuan, the Governor of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) delivered the IMF's Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture on June 24, 2016. The annual lecture, initiated in 2014, is to highlight the Fund's commitment to collaboration with member countries' central banks and provides a forum to discuss topical issues in central banking.

Zhou spoke on Managing Multi-Objective Monetary Policy: From the Perspective of Transitioning Chinese Economy addressing the lack of independence of PBoC.

His main points were:

....if a central bank has multiple objectives, it may be harder to be immune from the political reality. The reason is that, on the one hand, multiple objectives require more coordination and joint efforts with other government agencies and regulators, and on the other hand, functions such as macro-prudential and financial regulation by themselves are sensitive mandates for central banks.

For central banks with a single objective, it is relatively easy to be independent. However, if a central bank has multiple objectives, it may be harder to be immune from the political reality.

...balance of payments largely affected the central bank’s monetary policy, money supply and price stability objective. Therefore, the PBoC must pay attention to balance of payments, and needs to assume accordingly roles such as managing the exchange rate, foreign exchange market, foreign exchange reserves, gold reserves, and balance of payments statistics. 

To put it in a nutshell, the PBoC has multiple objectives, which not only include such four annual objectives as ensuring price stability, boosting economic growth, promoting employment, and broadly maintaining balance of payments, but also cover two dynamic objectives, namely, financial reform and opening up, and financial market development. The choice of a multi-objective central bank has to do with China’s circumstances as a transition economy.