Asia Society Policy Institute Leaders and Experts on COVID-19

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Asia Society Policy Institute leaders and experts are following the novel coronavirus pandemic closely. Here you will find regularly updated content and commentary on the COVID-19 outbreak.

Could the Pandemic Ease U.S.-China Tensions?

In an op-ed for Foreign Policy, Wendy Cutler and Daniel Russel write that COVID-19 might be a rare chance for the United States and China to come together.

Cargo ships berth at a port in Qindao, China, in March, 2020.

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Global Trade Initiatives to Combat COVID-19

On Thursday, April 2, Wendy Cutler cohosted a webinar about the COVID-19 pandemic and global trade, focusing on the responses by international organizations such as the G20 and OECD.

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More Investment Screening in the New COVID-19 World

Wendy Cutler says countries will be tempted to respond to COVID-19 with foreign investment restrictions, as the EU and Australia have done. An uptick of such measures, even if billed as temporary, could leave us all worse off, she warns.

Wendy Cutler discusses how the WTO can respond to the COVID-19 pandemic during a WITA-hosted webinar

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COVID-19 and Trade – A WTO Agenda

On Thursday, March 26, Wendy Cutler cohosted a webinar about the COVID-19 pandemic and global trade, building off a blog that she wrote the week before.

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The Coronavirus and Southeast Asia: Can Catastrophe be Avoided?

Senior Fellow Richard Maude writes that public health systems in Southeast Asia will be quickly overrun and deaths from the virus will rise sharply if more aggressive containment measures are not put in place quickly.

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World Leaders Must Step Up To Lead Us Through This Crisis

Kevin Rudd writes: global action is not an optional extra. It's fundamental to national recovery.

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The Coronavirus Will Not Be Fatal for China’s Belt and Road Initiative but It Will Strike a Heavy Blow

Daniel Russel writes that BRI projects face delays as the coronavirus prevents Beijing from supplying goods and people.

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As Its Coronavirus Outbreak Abates, China Is Trying out a New Look. Is It Working?

Daniel Russel says perhaps the biggest threat to China’s influence and international standing from COVID-19 is the likely toll on China’s economy from both the unprecedented shut-down at home and the precipitous drop in global demand.

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Coronavirus: The Need to Adjust and Reshape Our Trade Agenda

Wendy Cutler recommends actions the global trade regime should take during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a (virtual) WTO emergency session and plurilateral negotiations on trade restrictions of medical supplies.

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The Coronavirus and Financial Contagions Demand a Joint Response. Can China and the U.S. Deliver?

Kevin Rudd writes as the public health crisis spreads to global markets, recovery will depend on two factors: whether China seizes the chance to pursue economic reform, and if the U.S. and other major economies take coordinated action.

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People Don't Trust Their Governments to Handle the Coronavirus Crisis

Kevin Rudd says the current collapse in global equities markets is mirroring a broader collapse in global public confidence.

President Donald J. Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He sign the U.S.-China Phase One Trade Agreement

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Coronavirus Outbreak May Force U.S., China to Rework Trade Deal

Wendy Cutler says both the U.S. and China can respond responsibly to the fact that the coronavirus outbreak will prevent China from living up to some commitments in the Phase One trade deal.

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COVID-19 Trumps Nationalism

Kevin Rudd writes that like climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example of why we need multilateralism in a globalized world.

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Assessing China's Response to the Coronavirus Outbreak

Daniel Russel joined Bloomberg Markets to discuss China's response to COVID-19.

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Virus Fears Wipe out $6 Trillion from Global Markets

Kevin Rudd joins CNN to discuss the economic and political impacts of COVID-19.

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Wildcard: How Coronavirus is disrupting the China Dream

Daniel Russel speaks at the Asia Society Japan Center on how the Coronavirus outbreak will disrupt the Chinese Dream.

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Kevin Rudd on the Mounting Toll of the Novel Coronavirus

Kevin Rudd joins Patricia Karvelas on ABC Radio National about the economic and social toll of the Coronavirus.

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Has the "Great Decoupling" Gone Viral?

Kevin Rudd writes on the long-term trajectory of the U.S.-China relationship.

Upcoming Web Events

Briefing

[WEBCAST] Coronavirus: What’s the Prognosis for Japan?

09 Apr 2020
8 - 9 p.m.

New York Time

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ASPI's Wendy Cutler and Daniel Russel will go live with The New York Times' Motoko Rich for the seventh in a series of web-only events by ASPI entitled “Coronavirus, Asia, and the World.”

Briefing

[WEBCAST] Coronavirus: Consequences for South Asia

16 Apr 2020
10 - 11 a.m.

New York Time

Calculate your local time »

ASPI's Anubhav Gupta will go live with Managing Editor of Foreign Policy Ravi Agrawal, and Pakistan Correspondent of The Hindu Mehmal Sarfraz for the ninth in a series of web-only events by ASPI entitled “Coronavirus, Asia, and the World.”