POST-COVID-19 BUSINESS WITH ASIA
A roundtable in the conference “THE RISE OF ASIA IN GLOBAL HISTORY AND PERSPECTIVE: Covid-19 from Asia to the world: what assessment and what perspective for a common future?”
The roundtable is open
to individual and group paper presentations. Those willing to present their
papers are invited to submit their proposals until December 31, 2021. To submit
a proposal, please, click and follow this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOHfabdK0QrXJo86I85S6i85cfmydy1egoIelFzgYHjM2ixA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0&usp=mail_form_link
CONTEXT AND
QUESTIONS
1) Macro Trend; 2)
Consumption Trend; 3) Priority Sectors; 4) Global Major Changes.
1) MACRO TREND
• The Covid-19 crisis could accelerate the shifting global
balance towards Asia.
• China is a relative winner in the post Covid-19 world, with its GDP winning
two years over developed economies (compared to the pre-crisis long-term path).
• This context, along with free trade agreements, will help strengthen
Asia-Pacific trade integration.
Across Asia-Pacific, an already strong
preference for digital, contactless consumption is rapidly growing and likely
to continue unabated. The pandemic has disrupted consumer mindsets and
priorities when choosing products, with shifts toward safer, healthier, and
more trusted products. More than 80% of consumers in China (81%) and Indonesia
(86%) are more aware and cautious about physical health, in contrast to some
countries in Europe, such as Denmark (46%), Norway (46%) and Sweden (44%).
While Japanese consumers have become increasingly conservative, Chinese
consumers, adopting a “Hibernate and spend” mindset, will pay a premium for
products that promote health and wellness.
3) PRIORITY SECTORS (Southeast Asia)
• The
devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economies of Southeast Asia
has increased the urgency for structural reform to support recovery and a
return to sustainable, broadbased growth.
•
Post-COVID-19 tourism will focus more on health and safety, attract tourists
from nearby countries and domestically, and shift toward more environmentally
sustainable practices.
• The
agro-processing sector will move toward adding value and increasing
productivity, improving its resilience, and upgrading supply chains.
•
Targeting new markets, adopting new technologies, and shortening the supply
chain can help support the recovery of the garments sector.
• The
development of the electronics sector can be promoted through enhancing special
economic zones and investing in human capital.
•
Developing a digital trade sector will require a clear industry road map
combined with the appropriate regulatory framework and strong connectivity.
(Source: https://www.adb.org/publications/post-covid-19-economic-recovery-southeast-asia )
The
world witness major changes in the following fields:
•
Gender and women’s issues (feminist movements, ecofeminism, gender justice,
“depatriarcalisation”, LGBT, MeToo...)
•
Ecology (climate change, pandemic, green cities, green capitalism,
eco-renewable energy, plastic, waste, pollutions, eco-socialism, vegetarianism,
veganism...)
• Digital universe (information, communication, media, GAFAM, Ali Baba, cryptocurrency, fake news, artificial intelligence, cyber-economy, cyber-crimes, cyber-war…)
•
Biotechnology (medical-agricultural-industrial-environmental-biotechnology,
genetic engineering, cloning, GMO, vaccines…)
•
Demography (national-regional-international uneven growth, aging societies,
over population, ethnic-religious-conflicts, urbanisation, migration…)
• New
phase of decolonisation (counter hegemony, decolonisation of mind, Black lives
matter, Palestine lives matter, anti-racism, anti-occupation, anti-apartheid,
anti-war...)
(Source: https://bandungspirit.org/ )
How these changes affect business world, especially
with and/or in Asia? That is the question!