Asia 2022 – IFAT researchers’ panel discussion on the main themes of the year
On December 19th, the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) organized a panel discussion titled: “Asia 2022” with senior China experts Viktor Eszterhai and Gergely Salát, foreign trade specialist Péter Goreczky, and Korea expert Tibor Mezei, moderated by Deputy Director for Strategy Tamás Péter Baranyi.
In terms of the main talking points of 2022 for Asia, the effects of the war in Ukraine were substantial, especially regarding the re-emergence of blocs, and a global shift towards a bipolar system. According to Viktor Eszterhai, the main point here is not even the war itself, or the events surrounding the 20th Party Congress of the CCP, but the crystallization of Washington’s China strategy, and the fact that it points towards a Cold War-esque competition. Péter Goreczky highlighted, that while it is tempting in this profession to always look for historical analogies, the world has changed. The connection between the two superpowers is much deeper than in the era of the Soviet Union, and it is in the interest of China to continue reaping the benefits of the globalized world. Gergely Salát added, that unfortunately the political realities of the day tend to supersede the economic rationale, which poses a significant danger to solving conflicts through a peaceful manner. The researchers agreed that globalization as such cannot be untangled anymore, however certain specific areas deemed critical from a national security standpoint already see some movement towards self-sufficiency. The discussion also touched on the controversy surrounding the Chinese zero-COVID policy, as well as the role of Europe, Germany, and Hungary in the great power competition between the United States and China. Tibor Mezei summarized the year with a single word: escalation.
Photos by Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT)