Aspen Summer Series continues with North Asia

In the second forum in the Aspen Summer Series on Geopolitical Challenges, focus turned to security risks in North Asia and the trade implications for NZ, featuring NZ's top experts in the region, panellists Simon Draper (Director, Asia NZ Foundation) and John McKinnon (Chair, NZ China Council) and moderator SungYong Lee (Assoc Prof, National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago).

The discussion highlighted security concerns in North Asia beyond China's assertiveness, and the need for NZ to remain engaged and responsive to the changing dynamics in the region. The panellists also touched on China's economic, environmental, and demographic challenges and its complex relationships with its North Asian neighbours. NZ's agency and need to form like-minded partnerships were also addressed as key components of managing relations with China and other countries in the region. The need for New Zealanders to engage in conversation about the importance of Asia in our future was considered critical to take advantage of the many opportunities presented to NZ in this region, which is set to take centre stage globally over the coming decades. 

For more about supply chain resilience and potential technical barriers to trade and NZ’s reliance on China for agricultural exports, check out this article from Business Desk’s Brent Melville who attended the forum.

If you missed the forum or for a recap, watch it on our YouTube channel below or listen on our Apple Podcast channel ‘Beyond Borders’.

This article reflects the views of our panellists, North Asia experts Simon Draper (Director, Asia NZ Foundation), John McKinnon (Chair, NZ China Council) and SungYong Lee (Assoc Prof, National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago).