Dear Colleagues,

the next session of our BRICs Seminar will be held on Wednesday, March 22nd, 6:00 PM (online only).

We will welcome:

Prof. Maria Bruna Zolin

Universita Ca’ Foscari (Venezia)

On the following topic:

The complexity of global food security in times of war, climate change

and health emergencies

Maria Bruna Zolin is Professor of Commodity Markets and Economics of Rural Development at the Department of Economics of the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Her academic research focused primarily on agricultural and food products, food security and food safety, the economics of rural development, international trade, environmental and European policies, among other areas. She has worked as an expert for the FAO in Rome and has been a visiting professor in several universities. She has published more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters in renowned international journals and publishers.

Here is the link to the Seminar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89242314142

The next session of our Brics seminar will be held on Wednesday, March 8th, 6:00PM – online

We will welcome:

Min-Hua Chiang

(Asian Studies Center, the Heritage Foundation, Washington)

on the following topic:

Foreign Direct Investment in SouthEast Asia: US and China Compared

Link to the seminar :

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87872211473

Abstract:

Confrontation and competition between the United States and China in economics, the military, and international politics have been increasing in recent years. The rivalry between the two powers is less likely to ease anytime soon, especially after Chinese President Xi Jinping assumed his third term as General Secretary of the Communist Party, President of the country, and leader of the military in 2022. 

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a key player in the growing complexity of United States-China relations. China has long regarded the region as its crucial backyard economically and strategically. On the other hand, many ASEAN countries have been the United States’ long-term allies against the Communist regime’s power expansion since the Cold War era. 

This research aims to compare how the United States and China’s outward foreign direct investments have evolved within ASEAN amid rising contentions between the two countries. The United States has been a significant investor in the region since the 1960s which has contributed to the regional economic integration and prosperity over the past few decades. 

Despite its late development, Chinese investment in ASEAN is quickly catching up with the other key investors in the region in recent years. China’s emerging investment in ASEAN could possibly alter the nature of United States-ASEAN economic relations and increase its influence, thus challenging America’s power presence in the region. 

Author’s presentation:

Min-Hua Chiang is a Research fellow and Economist in the Asian Studies Center, Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, The Heritage Foundation.

She received both her Diplôme d’études approfondies (DEA) and Ph.D. in economic sciences from Université Pierre Mendès France, now part of Université Grenoble Alpes in France, and her Master in International Business Economics degree from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.

Her profile is accessible here: https://www.heritage.org/staff/min-hua-chiang