New Asian Giants

The premise of the conference is that rapid growth and the expansion of trade in China and India have transformed the contemporary international political economy, creating both challenges and opportunities for other countries. Projections to the mid-21st century place the two new giants on an ascending trajectory, while the dominance of Europe and the United States recedes. Other developing and transition countries strive to gain or maintain a foothold in the global economy.

European and American strategies to respond to rapid advances in the manufacturing and service sectors in China and India have already rekindled calls for protection, increased tensions among major powers, and posed a challenge to the beleaguered World Trade Organization (WTO).

Rapid economic expansion in the new Asian giants also presents a major challenge for developing countries. Basic manufacturing that employs low-cost labor tends to be the way in which developing nations break into the world trading system for industrial exports. Such an approach is being undermined by competition from China and, to a lesser extent, from India.

The conference is designed to explore the adaptive strategies used to meet the Asian challenge. It covers both developed and developing countries, examining public and private-sector responses at the regional, national, and sectoral levels. The aim is to identify lessons from successful strategies that could be adapted for use elsewhere.

Friday, April 13
Bryant University

Day one will take place in the Grand Hall of the Bello Center at Bryant University

1:00 - 2:30

Welcome: President Ron Machtley

Conference Introduction: Nancy Biersteker, Department of Economics

Opening Remarks: Hong Yang, Director, US-China Institute, Department of Science and Technology, Bryant University

Keynote Address: China and India: Economic Foundations and Global Implications, Trevor G. Houser, Analyst, China Strategic Advisory; Visiting Fellow, Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies

2:30 - 2:50 Break

2:50 - 4:10 US - EU Strategies in Response to the Asian Challenge

Moderator: Marsha Posusney, Professor of Political Science and Global Studies

US: Linda Droker, Director of South Asia and Oceania, U.S. Department of Commerce

EU: Iren Borissova, Special Advisor, Trade Section, Delegation of the European Commission

Comments: Madan Annavarjula, Department of Management, Bryant University

4:15 - 5:45 Business and Labor Responses to the US Strategy

Moderator: Ray Fogarty, Director, John H. Chafee Center for International Business

Business Response:

Larry Liebenow, President and CEO, Quaker Fabrics
George Shuster, Chair/CEO of Cranston Print Works

Labor Response: Thea Lee, AFL-CIO Policy Director

5:45 Closing

Saturday, April 14
Watson Institute for International Studies

Day two will take place at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University

Introduction: Barbara Stallings, Director, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

9:00 - 10:30 Keynote Panel: New Roles for China and India in the World Economy

Moderator: David Rocks, BusinessWeek Senior Editor

Nicholas Lardy, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

Devesh Kapur, Madan Lal Sobti Professorship for the Study of Contemporary India, Director, Centre for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania

10:30 - 10:45 Coffee

10:45 - 12:00 Adaptive Strategies and Trade Negotiation: Challenges and Opportunities

Moderator: Maria Carkovic, COE Administrative Director and Department of Economics, Brown University

Nancy Biersteker, Department of Economics, Bryant University: Confrontation, Negotiation, Cooperation: Adaptive Responses to Shifts in Global Trade Flows

John Odell, School of International Relations, University of Southern California: Developing Country Negotiation Strategies in the WTO

12:00 - 1:15 Lunch

1:15 - 3:15 Sectoral Strategies

Moderator: Patrick Heller, Department of Sociology, Brown University

Natural Resources: Marcos Jank, President, Brazilian Institute for International Trade Negotiations (ICONE) and Associate Professor of International Economics and Trade Policy at the School of Economics and Business of the University of São Paulo (USP)

Manufacturing: Richard Appelbaum, Professor of Sociology, UC -Santa Barbara: The Effect of Phasing Out the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (MFA) on Apparel Exports in the Least Developed and Developing Countries

Services: Catherine Mann, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

3:15 - 3:30 Coffee

3:30 - 5:45 National/Regional Strategies

Moderator: Louis Putterman, Department of Economics, Brown University

Latin America: Barbara Stallings, William R. Rhodes Professor and Director of the Watson Institute for International Studies; former director of the Economic Development Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA)

Africa: Andrea Goldstein, Senior Economist, OECD Development Centre

East Asia: Keun Lee, Professor of Economics, Seoul National University

Middle East: Marsha Posusney, Professor of Political Science and Global Studies, Bryant University), Greg White, Associate Professor of Government, Smith College, Peter Moore, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Case Western Reserve University