Abstract

“Decoupling” has become a catchword describing the possibility of an economic break-up between the United States and China. While the topic has triggered both support and scepticism, a range of decisions and tit-for-tat actions by both countries point to an economic future that may look far more disconnected. This webinar will discuss US-China contestations on technology and trade, and the geopolitical and strategic implications arising out of a “decoupling” world. It will additionally examine the implications such contestations will have on small states like Singapore.

Topics

1. How likely is it to imagine a decoupled world? How will it look? What are the lines of decoupling? (Supply chains? Flows of people? Narratives?)
2. Where is the US-China decoupling at, and where is it heading?
3. What are the implications – diplomatic, economic, security, and technological — of a decoupled – or decoupling world?
4. What are the implications on small states like Singapore?

About the Speakers

Liang Yan is Professor of Economics at Willamette University and a research scholar at Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity. Yan’s research interest includes the Chinese economy, international trade and finance, economic development, and Modern Money Theory. Yan has published articles in International Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Economic Issues, The Chinese Economy, China & World Economy, and Forum for Social Economics and contributed to many heterodox economics book projects.  Yan has received research grants from the Institute for New Economic Thinking, the Luce Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Yan also contributes frequently to media platforms such as the China Global TV Network, the East Asia Form, the Diplomat Magazine, Chinese Social Sciences Magazine, among others. Yan received a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in Economics from University of Missouri-Kansas City. Prior to Willamette, Yan taught at University of Redlands and Bard College at Simon’s Rock. Yan served as an editorial board member of the Journal of Economic Issues and is an editorial board member of the Chinese Economy. Yan is Vice President of Association for Institutional Thought and an active member of the Association of Evolutionary Economics.

Naomi Wilson serves as vice president of policy, Asia at the Information Technology Industry Council. Prior to joining ITI, Naomi served at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she most recently held the position of acting director for Asia-Pacific. In that capacity, she played a leading role on cybersecurity, law enforcement, and customs cooperation issues related to Asia and served as a senior advisor to Secretary Jeh Johnson. During her tenure at DHS, Naomi led development and implementation of priority policy initiatives for DHS engagement with China, including secretarial engagements and agreements. She worked closely with interagency colleagues to negotiate and implement agreements stemming from the September 2015 State visit between Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, including managing the U.S.-China High-Level Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues for DHS. Prior to joining DHS, Naomi served as a staffer on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs and as a research assistant at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). Naomi holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Master’s in International Affairs & National Security. In 2011, she completed intensive Chinese language training at Peking University. Naomi speaks advanced Mandarin and French and is a native of Connecticut.

Huang Chin-Hao is Assistant Professor at the Yale-NUS College in Singapore. He specialises in international politics, with a focus on China’s foreign policy, Southeast Asian politics, and United States (US)-China relations. He is the recipient of the Lee Kong Chian National University of Singapore-Stanford University Distinguished Fellow on Contemporary Southeast Asia (2018-2019) and the American Political Science Association’s Foreign Policy Section Best Paper Award (2014). He is the author or co-author of three books, and has research articles published or forthcoming in International Organization, The China Quarterly, The China Journal, Contemporary Southeast Asia, and International Peacekeeping, and in edited volumes through Oxford University Press and Routledge, among others. He has testified on China’s foreign affairs before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, US Congress. He has also served as a consultant for US and European foundations, governments, and companies on their strategies and policies in Asia. Until 2009, he was a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, and prior to that worked with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. His Doctor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Science are respectively from the University of Southern California and Georgetown University.