Event

The Xi Jinping administration has now entered its second term with seemingly centralized and enhanced power. President Xi has also recently enacted several important foreign policy changes, suggesting that he has gained more power than his predecessor. However, his economic policy still swings back and forth between different schools of thought within the regime.

In this seminar, Toshiya Tsugami will present political observations of Xi Jinping’s second term and an analysis of the Chinese economy and its prospects. The hopes and concerns over China’s external policy from the perspective of its neighbor, Japan, will also be covered.

Toshiya Tsugami is President of Tsugami Workshop Ltd., an independent China business consulting firm. After graduating from the University of Tokyo (Faculty of Law) in 1980, he served in Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and observed China’s WTO entry negotiations. He has also been Economic Counsellor at the Embassy in Beijing and METI’s Director for Northeast Asia.

Mr. Tsugami has written six books to date, with his first, “China’s Rise”, winning the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities in 2003.

The discussant for Mr. Tsugami’s talk is Research Fellow at NUPI Bjørnar Sverdrup-Thygeson. He has done research on a broad spectrum of topics related to Chinese foreign policy, and the rise of new powers in the international system. Earlier works include analysis of the impact of awarding Liu Xiaob the Nobel Peace Prize on Norwegian–Chinese trade relations.

Chair is Research Fellow Wrenn Yennie Lindgren, who specializes in Japanese foreign and security policy.