Global Economy
2022: A global turning point
Tectonic shifts in world affairs are underway as 2022 draws to a close.
With the Ukraine war drawing a line under the familiar post-Cold War period, the world has entered a…
Economic diplomacy: Scoring goals outside the stadium
Diplomatic football
Before Socceroo Mathew Leckie’s remarkable side-step goal to advance the Australian team to the next round of the World Cup, Sports Minister Anika Wells got…
Economic diplomacy: Charging up old ties with Jakarta
Mining mates
The lexicon of strained language to accommodate the endlessly complicated relationship between Indonesia and Australia is coalescing around a new phrase for…
Putting food at the heart of China-Indonesia relations
As regional leaders gathered for the ASEAN summit in Cambodia last week, a sideline meeting also took place with China. For all the talk about regional rivalries amid growing…
The race for lithium
The current global energy crisis has shown how interdependent the world’s energy markets are, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causing widespread fuel shortages and sky-rocketing…
Countdown to Asia’s summit season
After two years of Covid-19 hiatus, Asia’s “summit season” is back. This year the G20 meeting of top global economies will also be hosted in Asia, as well as the Association of…
Economic diplomacy: Searching for APEC
A new horse in the regional race
It is hard to begrudge an ageing father opting for his daughter’s wedding over a leaders’ summit which has lost its early lustre. But Joe Biden…
Economic diplomacy: The IMF faces a US$ reality check
Back to basics
When the International Monetary Fund kicked off its latest twice-yearly meetings with blunt criticism of the fiscal policies of the new British government it…
Will the three Ts tie India and Taiwan?
India’s diplomats have been told to focus on the three Ts: Trade, Technology and Tourism. Together, these make a fourth T, Taiwan, look attractive.
Just in tourism, the…
EU in the driver’s seat on Indo-Pacific trade deals
Australia’s long-running free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union seem to be emerging from the hiatus they were plunged into by the Morrison government’s…