Global Economy
What the China thaw means for Australia’s trade diversification agenda
The meeting this week between Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell and his Chinese counterpart Commerce Minister Wang Wentao represents more than just the next instalment in the…
China’s growth prospects after zero-Covid
China’s economy has had a tough time of late. The strict lockdowns associated with the earlier zero-Covid policy and Beijing’s subsequent messy reversal saw economic growth…
Global energy scarcity and the South China Sea
Last month, the Indonesian government approved natural gas exploration in the Tuna gas bloc, part of the largest untapped natural gas deposit in the world. The development of the…
Economic diplomacy: Diversification is hard to do
Catching up
It is now 25 years since then World Bank senior vice-president and chief economist Joseph Stiglitz remarkably turned on his employer to set out a roadmap for …
How will China’s punitive trade restrictions against Australia end?
Recent reports of an imminent meeting between Australia’s and China’s trade ministers have raised hopes of progress toward the removal of the trade restrictions that China imposed…
Link start-ups ecosystems to build influence in Southeast Asia
In 2019, Indonesian President Joko Widodo surprised many when he appointed 35-year old Nadiem Makarim as Minister for Education and Culture. Makarim had risen to prominence as the…
Crossing the carbon border
In 2023, climate rules in international trade become real.
With the introduction of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), trade rules based on the…
To unchain Indonesia’s commodity reliance
Indonesia’s dependence on commodity wealth has been a prominent feature in its economy. The archipelago’s abundance of minerals and agriculture resources coupled with poor local…
Economic diplomacy: From pollie crises to polycrisis
Words of the year are already flowing freely with teal taking the prize at the Macquarie Dictionary to reflect the challenge being posed to Australia’s major political parties by…
Why the cryptocurrency ecosystem is a house of cards
2022 started with a free fall in major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum. At that time, it was seen as just part of the ebb and flow of financial speculations. But…