Organizer: Asia Society Policy Institute
Type/Location: Virtual
Description:
China and Southeast Asia stand at a pivotal juncture. As Chinese investments flow increasingly toward its southern neighbors and new American tariffs hit both China and several ASEAN economies, the region finds itself grappling with a more volatile economic and geopolitical environment. Domestic transitions across Southeast Asia and shifting power dynamics in the broader Indo-Pacific have added new layers of uncertainty and complexity.
As the ASEAN Summit approaches, what do these dynamics signal for the future of China-ASEAN relations? Can the region sustain its unity and agency amid economic uncertainty and security competition? And how might ASEAN chart a cooperative yet independent path forward?
Join us for a timely conversation with leading experts — Gita Wirjawan, former Minister of Trade, Indonesia (2011-2014); Bert Hofman, Professor, National University of Singapore and Honorary Senior Fellow on Chinese Economy, Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis (CCA); and Brian Wong, Assistant Professor in Philosophy, University of Hong Kong and Honorary Fellow, CCA. The discussion will be moderated by Kevin Zongzhe Li, Affiliated Researcher, CCA.
About the Speakers:
Gita Wirjawan served as Indonesia’s Minister of Trade (2011–14), chairman of its Investment Coordinating Board (2009–11), and chair of the 159-nation WTO Ministerial Conference in 2012, which focused on easing global trade barriers. He also led Indonesia’s national badminton association from 2012 to 2016, during which Indonesia won three gold medals at the World Championships, four titles at the All England Championships, and one gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. As an investment banker, he held key appointments at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, where he led numerous mergers, corporate restructurings, financings, and strategic sales involving leading companies in Southeast Asia. His board service has included roles as a commissioner of the state-owned oil giant Pertamina and as an independent director of Axiata Group Berhad. Wirjawan hosts the educational podcast Endgame, which focuses on promoting Southeast Asia’s growth and prosperity. His most recent book, published in September 2025 is What It Takes: Southeast Asia. He is a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy, researching Southeast Asia’s nation-building directionality. He also serves as a member of the Angsana Council — a nonprofit group dedicated to advancing the region’s businesses and economies — and of the global advisory firm Macro Advisory Partners. He holds degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School (MPA), Baylor University (MBA), and the University of Texas at Austin (BSc).
Bert Hofman is a Non-Resident Honorary Senior Fellow on Chinese Economy at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis (CCA). He is a Professor at the East Asian Institute at the National University Singapore (NUS). Hofman is also a Senior Fellow at MERICS in Germany. Before joining NUS, he worked with the World Bank for 27 years, 22 of which in Asia, and 12 of which on China. He was the World Bank Country Director for China 2014-2019, the China country economist 2004-2008, and the Chief Economist for the East Asia and Pacific region 2011-2014. Hofman also worked at the Kiel Institute of World Economics, the OECD, and NMB Bank (Now ING). He studied economics in Rotterdam and Kiel.
Brian Wong is a Non-Resident Honorary Fellow at CCA and an HKU-100 Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). His research examines the ethics and dynamics of authoritarian regimes and their foreign policies, historical and colonial injustices, and the intersection of geopolitics, political and moral philosophy, and technology. At HKU, he serves as a fellow at the Centre on Contemporary China and the World, sits on the steering committee for the Hong Kong Ethics Lab, and advises the Interdisciplinary Dynamics: Ethics, AI, and Society research center at the Institute of Data Science. He also serves as an associate editor for the journal Inquiry, having presented and written on issues of public philosophy for the Journal of Practical Ethics, the American Philosophical Association, and the Royal Institute of Philosophy.
Kevin Zongzhe Li is an Affiliated Researcher at CCA, where he researches the geopolitics of the energy transition and China–Southeast Asia relations, with a particular focus on China–Indonesia. Li was most recently a Senior Analyst at consulting firm Resonance Global, where he advised on strategy and partnerships to help corporate and foundation clients drive sustainable impact and resilience in the developing world, especially Southeast Asia. Previously, he worked with the United Nations in China and Deloitte’s climate and sustainability practice. Li holds a BS in Environmental and Sustainability Science from Cornell University and an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School. He is fluent in English and Mandarin and conversant in Bahasa Indonesia and Spanish.
Registration:
To attend the event virtually, please register here.