State of Asia

Qing Wang talks with Remko Tanis about what's really behind China's falling birth rate: it's about a lot more than just money, or lack thereof. Qing's eye opening essay on the topic, is available to read and download here . Qing, a multi-award winning journalist, podcaster, and social media influencer, shares her insights as China and the World Fellow at Asia Society Switzerlan...

Understanding China has never been more crucial. Yet, much of the debate remains dominated by geopolitics and security concerns, often overlooking how Chinese people themselves view their country and the world around them. The China and the World Fellowship aims to close this gap by offering regular, in-depth insights exploring how Chinese citizens perceive the defining issues of our time: the int...

A new industrial reality is reshaping Europe's economic future. China’s manufacturing juggernaut – once focused on low-cost consumer goods – has pivoted decisively toward the high-value sectors that have long defined European prosperity: automobiles, machinery, batteries, solar technology, steel, and chemicals. The numbers tell a stark story. By late 2025, Germany's annual trade deficit...

In this episode, we’re gonna take a sweeping look at Southeast Asia's political, economic, and security landscape. The region sits at a geopolitical crossroads, a position that has created huge potential and a delicate balancing act between China and the U.S. As an intrinsically diverse region, different countries pursue different levels of ambition. The difficulties the region has in finding...

This episode unpacks a pivotal year for India. Suhasini Haidar , diplomatic editor at The Hindu, explains how Delhi has adapted to unexpected tensions with the U.S., renewed pragmatism toward China, and its enduring reliance on Russia, while preparing for major trade negotiations with Washington and Brussels. Milan Vaishnav , Senior Fellow and Director, South Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for I...

At the 2025 STATE OF ASIA conference, we hosted two conversations focused on China. First, hear from Desmond Shum , entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and author of the internationally acclaimed memoir Red Roulette, presenting a rare and authoritative perspective on the intersection of global business and Chinese elite politics. Then, Abigaël Vasselier of the EU's External Action Service...

How is Europe's role evolving amidst a retreating U.S. and a more fragmented global order? With middle powers repositioning themselves for greater agency and partnership, particularly in Asia, is Europe making enough of the new dynamic for cooperation with countries like Japan, South Korea, and Australia on fundamental issues like security, defense, trade, and technological governance? Listen...

How do you summarize the state of the world in 20 minutes and still have it make sense? By inviting two excellent speakers to take on that challenge, is what we found out at our annual STATE OF ASIA conference, held November 6 in Zurich. Listen to  Pita Limjaroenrat , former Prime Minister-designate of Thailand, in conversation with Suhasini Haidar , diplomatic editor of  The Hindu , who kicked of...

Pita Limjaroenrat , former Prime-Minister Designate of Thailand and current Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, delivers the fourth annual State of Asia Address, hosted by Asia Society Switzerland and the University of Zurich. In a packed Aula, he spoke about the period of transition the world finds itself in, with the post-post Cold War era having ended, but a new chapter...

2025 marks 50 years since Vietnam's reunification. A great moment to reflect on the country's remarkable transformation. Since launching major economic reforms four decades ago, Vietnam has achieved one of the world’s fastest growth rates, attracting global investment as companies shift production from China. Today, it's a lower middle-income nation with bold ambitions to become a d...

South Korea is heading to the polls to elect a successor to impeached President Yoon, whose failed attempt to put the country under martial law back in December laid bare the deep divisions and gloom that plague Korean society. We talk about all this with Eunwoo Lee in Seoul, from where he writes for The Diplomat . Want more Korea? Join us in Zurich on June 25 for an evening with stellar Korean au...

The defining characteristic of the environment in China has been its pace of change. And that has its impact on the latest generation of Chinese entrepreneurs who need to innovate to meet the tough demands of Chinese consumers. The message is: adapt or get washed away. It's like constantly swimming with piranhas, says Zak Dychtwald , our guest on this episode. The skill to adapt to people&apo...

Bich Tran , a senior fellow at Verve Research , an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies , and a nonresident fellow at We Protect our Seas, discusses Vietnam's strategies at navigating geopolitical turmoil, while the country celebrates fifty years since its 1975 reunification. Why is the country rapidly increasing and intensifying its diplomatic ties around the...

Asia Society Switzerland's Manuela Coldesina (live from Tokyo), Serena Jung , Nico Luchsinger , and Remko Tanis try to discuss everything that happened thus far in 2025 and the insights many experts shared with us over these months in events and podcasts. Impossible? Let's find out. Full recaps and recordings of all our events are available on our website , and on the Asia Society YouTub...

Selina Ho , Associate Professor in International Affairs and Co-Director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, discusses the Southeast Asia trip of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, why she labels China's foreign policy as both assertive and insecure, and why China is using the Korean War of the 1950s to rally its popul...

China's patent applications have surpassed every other country for over a decade and the speed with which technology out of China impresses the world has picked up in the last few years. Its factories churn out cutting-edge electric vehicles packed with futuristic features – so advanced that European carmakers are now partnering with Chinese firms to gain access to their technology. A complet...

Switzerland was one of the first western nations to recognize the People's Republic of China, in 1950, and one of the first to reach a free trade agreement with Beijing as well, in 2013. Historian Ariane Knüsel explores the special bond between China and Switzerland in Die Schweiz und China , a book she co-authored with Ralph Weber. Ariane spoke at an event in our Talk at the Library series....

Semiconductors, EVs, AI, TSMC, BYD, DeepSeek... In a time when trade, technology, and global power dynamics are more interconnected and in flux than ever before, we turn to an expert on all those things on this episode: John Lee , a leading voice on high-tech industries in China and the region, and on how they impact foreign relations. John is the 2025 TOY Senior Fellow at Asia Society Switzerland...

For years, for most of us, news on global trade mostly hid out in the pages of The Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times . Not anymore. as the U.S. is threatening and hitting friend and foe with punitive tariffs. The rules-based system that has been governing global trade seems to be evaporating in front of our eyes. What does that mean for consumers, companies, and governments in Europe and...

Late last year, at our annual STATE OF ASIA conference, we hosted a conversation on the economic developments in Japan, China, and India. After decades of stagnation, Japan’s economy is showing optimism from structural shifts like labor market reforms and wage increases that are finally starting to pay off.  In China, growth has peaked and the government is yet to succeed in convincing its populat...

Kaiser Kuo , host of the long-running Sinica podcast , joins us in Zurich to discuss the evolving narrative on China, and why the West is so often 'stunned' by Chinese breakthroughs in electric vehicles, green technology, or, most recently: AI, with DeepSeek. We explore the reasons behind the challenges of reporting on China, the importance of strategic empathy, and the shifting dynamics...

India and Indonesia, the juggernaut democracies of South and Southeast Asia, both ended 2024 with new governments that hold new ambitions. How will this pan out in the year to come? We talked about this with Dewi Fortuna Anwar , one of Indonesia’s foremost foreign policy experts; and Garima Mohan , Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund. The conversation is moderated...

We check in with Schoni Song in Seoul, to discuss this morning's unprecedented arrest of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is accused of leading an insurrection. How have people in South Korea responded to the news, and what could come next? Schoni is a former colleague at Asia Society and was a speaker in our 2023 webcast A Closer Look at South Korea . - STATE OF ASIA is a podcast fr...

China is undergoing unprecedented changes domestically, while also dealing with the challenges of a volatile world. Listen to Qing Wang , host of the popular Chinese-language podcast The Weirdo ; Zichen Wang , Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization; and Adam Tooze , economic historian and professor at Columbia University discuss the state of China. The discussion is moderated by...

We're kicking off the year with two great minds discussing the State of the World as Asia's global importance continues to grow, Europe seems somewhat lost, and the U.S. is preparing for the return of Donald Trump to the White House. Listen to Asia Society President & CEO Kyung-wha Kang and economic historian Adam Tooze , professor at Columbia University in New York. Their conversati...