Today Trends

Author: Martin Miszerak, Renmin University Since early 2023, Chinese authorities have started extending an olive branch to China’s top platform tech companies after over two years of ‘regulatory crackdown’. The crackdown started in November 2020 with the cancellation of the initial public offering (IPO) of e-commerce giant Ant Group — an affiliate of Alibaba. Besides Ant Group, the ‘rectification’ affected most of China’s large platform companies. Yet by June 2023, a cold was blowing over China’s economy. The post-COVID-19 recovery was faltering. Youth unemployment rose above 21 per cent. The authorities also likely concluded that they had accomplished most of the objectives of the rectification. At the China Development Forum in March 2023, Premier Li Qiang bent over backwards to assure prominent Western CEOs that China was welcoming the private sector, both foreign and domestic. There is no consensus among academic and journalistic commentators about the crackdown’s ‘true’ ob

Author: Alexander R Arifianto, RSIS On 24 July 2023, Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs and Party of Functional Groups (Golkar) Chairman Airlangga Hartarto faced 12 hours of questioning due to his alleged involvement in the issuance of a ministerial decree allowing three palm oil companies to export unprocessed palm oil fruits overseas. The ministerial decree contradicted a presidential decree issued by President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo in April 2022 which temporarily banned the export of crude palm oil to lower the price of cooking oil — made from processed palm oil — in Indonesia. Two days earlier, Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia issued a statement sharing his plans to declare his candidacy for Golkar Party chairman and replace Airlangga. He claims to have heard concerns from many party officials, with these officials allegedly calling for an overhaul of Golkar’s national leadership to improve its standing in opinion polls before the 2024 Indonesian general elect

Editorial Board, ANU Whether US scepticism about ASEAN is justified or not, President Biden’s no-show at the ASEAN meetings in Jakarta last week was a major lost opportunity to build goodwill in Indonesia by showing support for outgoing president Joko Widodo and his administration’s efforts to strengthen ASEAN’s decision-making ability and give substance to the values and interests expressed in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Treating Indonesia as an afterthought, while prioritising engagement with Asian partners more eager to curry favour over aiding US efforts to check Chinese power, could prove costly for the United States in the coming decades. Biden skipped the ASEAN–US Summit and the East Asia Summit meeting of leaders in Jakarta while choosing to visit Vietnam instead. As two new and important Australian publications, Sam Roggeveen’s ‘ The Echidna Strategy ’ and the  Moore Report on Australia’s Southeast Asian strategy  emphasise, Indonesia’s large and youthful popula

Author: John West, Asian Century Institute Many raised eyebrows when the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto announced that Indonesia had formally expressed an interest to join the OECD. The move seemed surprising given that the OECD is reputed to be a ‘developed countries’ club’ and Indonesia’s GDP per capita in 2022 was only US$4788 compared with the OECD average of US$43,261. But the OECD has been recently opening up to emerging economies. In 2023, the OECD has 38 member countries , after accepting 8 new member countries since 2010. These are Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia in 2010, Latvia in 2016, Lithuania in 2018, Colombia in 2020 and Costa Rica in 2021. The last time the OECD admitted a new member from Asia was when South Korea joined in 1996. This means that the OECD only has two members (the other being Japan) from the world’s most economically dynamic region. The OECD prides itself on being ‘a global policy forum that promotes

Author: Radhey Tambi, Centre for Air Power Studies As the competition between India and China for influence in South Asia intensifies, foreign investment becomes more important in shaping regional outcomes. This discussion is particularly relevant as China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continues to expand, reaching the borders of almost every South Asian country. India will need to leverage foreign aid and investments to achieve its goal of becoming a leading player in South Asia. South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions in the world. Since its announcement in 2013, the BRI has significantly filled this investment vacuum. China has funded the Hambantota port and Port City Colombo in Sri Lanka, the trans-Himalayan corridor and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor , and sealed an oil extraction deal with Afghanistan and a free trade agreement with Male. Beijing has also capitalised on the development gap along the Line of Actual Control — the effective border betwe

Author: Will Brehm, University of Canberra After a decade of laying the political groundwork in Cambodia, longstanding Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s planned transfer of power to his son went almost according to plan. Not even Meta could prevent the inevitable outcome when it banned Hun Sen from its platforms in the lead-up to the July 2023 election, removing a vital outlet for government propaganda. Hun Manet, the eldest son of Hun Sen, was eventually elected to the National Assembly for the first time on 23 July 2023. The real surprise came a few days later when Hun Sen set a clear timeframe for his resignation after 38 years in office despite countless utterances of his wishes to remain in power well into the 2030s . This sets the stage for Manet to transition from being prime minister-designate, a title he received from the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in December 2021, to prime minister on 22 August 2023. Hun Sen will become president of the senate and will remain lea

Author: Soumya Bhowmick, Observer Research Foundation Against the contemporary background of strong systemic shocks to the global economy, the Group of Twenty (G20) must address the stagnation in developmental priorities and spur economic growth. As the current steward of the rotating presidency within the G20, India has acquired a unique podium to spearhead discussions on pivotal global challenges. The G20’s primary focus lies in fostering international economic cooperation, rendering it an indispensable arena for addressing multifaceted economic issues encompassing trade, finance, and sustainability. India’s G20 presidency from December 2022 to November 2023 has led a continued effort in shaping worldwide economic and political dialogues that are crucial for the developing world, such as sustainable debt management and mitigating climate emergencies . While most developing countries are facing financial stress in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation in Small Isl

Author: Kazimier Lim, Sydney Succession is a delicate and potentially violent topic for leaders. In Singapore, succession planning is quite the opposite. It showcases the stability and predictability of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). Yet it appears to be an unusually difficult challenge for current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. After 31 years in power, the first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew announced that the second-generation of PAP cabinet leaders unanimously chose his deputy Goh Chok Tong as his successor. This was despite Lee making it clear that among his three deputies, he preferred Tony Tan over Goh and Ong Teng Cheong. Tan and Ong both later served as president. The decision over Goh’s successor was even more uneventful. The PAP’s third-generation leaders decided that Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew’s son, would be the new princeling-in-waiting over a working lunch in 2004. Having been prime minister for almost two decades, Lee has openly discussed his retiremen

Author: Sokvy Rim, The Thinker Cambodia As one of the youngest democratic and developing countries in Southeast Asia, Cambodia’s democratic transition has been impeded by weak political institutions and a lack of a genuine opposition party. The dissolution of Cambodia’s National Rescue Party (CNRP) and the oppression of its former members including former CNRP president Kem Sokha indicate a worrying direction for Cambodia’s democracy. The founding of the CNRP in 2012 — through a merger between former opposition parties the Sam Rainsy Party and Kem Sokha’s Human Rights Party — marked a new period for Cambodia’s democratic transition. It led to a more even balance of power in Cambodia’s domestic politics. Prior to its dissolution in 2018, the CNRP was popular and secured nearly half the total votes in Cambodia’s 2013 election. The CNRP was the only viable opposition party and secured 55 seats out of 125. The incumbent Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) held 68 seats, losing 22 to the C