State of Asia

At the 2025 STATE OF ASIA conference, we hosted two conversations focused on China.First, hear from Desmond Shum, entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and author of the internationally acclaimed memoir Red Roulette, presenting a rare and authoritative perspective on the intersection of global business and Chinese elite politics.Then, Abigaël Vasselier of the EU's External Action Service, shares her perspectives on China's next chapter and the country's relationship with Europe, in conversation with sinologist Simona Grano of the University of Zurich.The conversations were recorded live, on stage, at the 2025 STATE OF ASIA conference, held November 6 in Zurich.Find more information on STATE OF ASIA 2025, including videos, on the Asia Society website.Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Published: December 2, 2025Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

How is Europe's role evolving amidst a retreating U.S. and a more fragmented global order?With middle powers repositioning themselves for greater agency and partnership, particularly in Asia, is Europe making enough of the new dynamic for cooperation with countries like Japan, South Korea, and Australia on fundamental issues like security, defense, trade, and technological governance?Listen to an engaging conversation, led by the FT's Mercedes Ruehl, with Huong Le Thu of the International Crisis Group, Henrietta Levin of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Abigaël Vasselier, Asia Pacific strategic coordinator for the EU's foreign service.Their discussion was recorded live, on stage, at the 2025 STATE OF ASIA conference, held November 6 in Zurich.Find more information on STATE OF ASIA 2025, including videos, on the Asia Society website.Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Published: November 25, 2025Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

How do you summarize the state of the world in 20 minutes and still have it make sense? By inviting two excellent speakers to take on that challenge, is what we found out at our annual STATE OF ASIA conference, held November 6 in Zurich.Listen to Pita Limjaroenrat, former Prime Minister-designate of Thailand, in conversation with Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic editor of The Hindu, who kicked off the day-long event with an engaging overview of sobering reflections and possible hopeful signs.Find more information on STATE OF ASIA 2025, including videos, on the Asia Society website.Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Published: November 18, 2025Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

Pita Limjaroenrat, former Prime-Minister Designate of Thailand and current Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, delivers the fourth annual State of Asia Address, hosted by Asia Society Switzerland and the University of Zurich.In a packed Aula, he spoke about the period of transition the world finds itself in, with the post-post Cold War era having ended, but a new chapter yet to be written. He laid out what this means for power, progress, and peace in Asia.The full Address, including a conversation between Pita and University of Zurich economics professor Ralph Ossa, is also available on Asia Society's YouTube channel.Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Published: November 10, 2025Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

2025 marks 50 years since Vietnam's reunification. A great moment to reflect on the country's remarkable transformation. Since launching major economic reforms four decades ago, Vietnam has achieved one of the world’s fastest growth rates, attracting global investment as companies shift production from China.Today, it's a lower middle-income nation with bold ambitions to become a developed, high-income country by 2045. But, as Vietnam looks ahead, it faces significant challenges, from how to unleash more human creativity and reforming institutions to getting badly needed investments in infrastructure off the ground.And like every other country, Vietnam cannot escape dealing with a fragmenting world order, that will challenge its famed bamboo diplomacy, where Hanoi works to be friends with everyone. Something that might no longer suit a geopolitical environment that incereasingly demands chosing sides.In this episode, hear dr. Hai Hong Nguyen discuss all these points, and more. He's a senior lecturer in politics, social change, and international relations at VinUniversity in Hanoi.This conversation is part of our long-running web series A Closer Look and available as video on the Asia Society YouTube channel.Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Season 8, episode 16 - Published: July 8, 2025Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

South Korea is heading to the polls to elect a successor to impeached President Yoon, whose failed attempt to put the country under martial law back in December laid bare the deep divisions and gloom that plague Korean society.We talk about all this with Eunwoo Lee in Seoul, from where he writes for The Diplomat.Want more Korea? Join us in Zurich on June 25 for an evening with stellar Korean author Bora Chung. More info and tickets on our website.A solid analysis of the challenges South Korea faces as it heads to the polls, from Carnegie's Chung Min Lee is here.More on the exhibition Hallyu! which runs through August 17 at the Rietberg Museum in Zurich.Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Season 8, episode 15 - Published: May 27, 2025Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

The defining characteristic of the environment in China has been its pace of change. And that has its impact on the latest generation of Chinese entrepreneurs who need to innovate to meet the tough demands of Chinese consumers.The message is: adapt or get washed away. It's like constantly swimming with piranhas, says Zak Dychtwald, our guest on this episode. The skill to adapt to people's always evolving demands, is increasingly making Chinese companies globally competitive.Zak is the founder and CEO of Young China Group, a consultancy decoding China's market, workforce, and geopolitical shifts. Fluent in Mandarin and based in Shanghai, he brings over a decade of firsthand experience to his work as the author of Young China and a contributor to Harvard Business Review. A sought-after speaker invited to events on six continents, Zak combines data-driven research with deep cultural insight to help leaders navigate China's future.Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Season 8, episode 14 - Published: May 13, 2025Hosts: Serena Jung, Nico Luchsinger, Asia Society SwitzerlandEditor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

Bich Tran, a senior fellow at Verve Research, an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a nonresident fellow at We Protect our Seas, discusses Vietnam's strategies at navigating geopolitical turmoil, while the country celebrates fifty years since its 1975 reunification. Why is the country rapidly increasing and intensifying its diplomatic ties around the world? Can it overcome the challenges and cement its place as Asia's next economic powerhouse, as the government is hoping for?Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Season 8, episode 13 - Published: April 29, 2025Host: Remko Tanis, Asia Society SwitzerlandEditor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

Asia Society Switzerland's Manuela Coldesina (live from Tokyo), Serena Jung, Nico Luchsinger, and Remko Tanis try to discuss everything that happened thus far in 2025 and the insights many experts shared with us over these months in events and podcasts.Impossible? Let's find out.Full recaps and recordings of all our events are available on our website, and on the Asia Society YouTube channel.Stay up-to-date on all future events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Season 8, episode 12 - Published: April 22, 2025Host: Remko Tanis, Asia Society SwitzerlandEditor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland

Selina Ho, Associate Professor in International Affairs and Co-Director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, discusses the Southeast Asia trip of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, why she labels China's foreign policy as both assertive and insecure, and why China is using the Korean War of the 1950s to rally its population behind the country's leaders in the current trade war with the United States.Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member. -STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.  Season 8, episode 11 - Published: April 15, 2025Host: Remko Tanis, Asia Society SwitzerlandEditor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland