15 December 2023
The 2023 CIBEL Global Network Conference and Young Scholars Workshop was held on 21-23 November with a theme of ‘Reshaping the Global Economic Governance: Opportunities and Challenges for the Asia-Pacific Region’. It provided a platform for scholars, practitioners and legal experts from Australia, Asia Pacific and worldwide to discuss the major opportunities for and challenges faced by governments in reshaping their own economic systems, as well as that of the global economic governance collectively, focusing on the role and impact of the Asia-Pacific.
The conference attracted 146 unique registrations from 30 countries and regions, with 42 joining CIBEL events for the first time. The 3-day conference this year comprised four panels, each addressing a specific topic. A Keynote speech was featured on the second day, and the third day was dedicated to the Young Scholars Workshop, offering early career academics a platform to share their latest research on issues critical to the global economic governance.
Associate Professor Weihuan Zhou, Co-Director of CIBEL Centre, UNSW Law & Justice delivered the welcome address. He extended a warm welcome to speakers and audiences who were participating virtually. Professor Lisa Toohey from University of Newcastle chaired the first panel which was centred around ‘Emerging Economic Instruments and Agreements: Towards Cooperation or Fragmentation, or Geopolitical Frictions?’. Mr Simon Lester, Founder and President, China Trade Monitor shared his perspectives on ‘The U.S. Shift from Enforceable Trade Liberalizing Agreements to Coordinating Investment: Short-Term Experiment or Permanent New Paradigm?’. Assistant Professor Stefanie Schacherer from Singapore Management University presented on ‘Agile Governance and Regulatory Cooperation under Free Trade Agreements’. Associate Professor Wei Yin from Southwest University of Political Science and Law spoke on ‘Rethinking Investment Incentives and International Subsidies Disciplines’. Finally, Associate Professor Alexandr Svetlicinii from University of Macau shared insights on ‘The Unsettled Governance of the Dual Use Goods in International Economic Law: What Use for Security Exceptions?’
The second panel, focussed on ‘From De-coupling to De-risking: Implications and The Way Forward’, was chaired by Professor Henry Gao from Singapore Management University. Professor James Nedumpara, Head of Centre for Trade and Investment Law, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT)) spoke about ‘Inclusive and Resilient Supply Chains and the Place of Non-Trade and Sustainability Concerns’. Professor Jaemin Lee from Seoul National University presented on ‘Supply Chain Reformulation and International Economic Law’. Professor Yuka Fukunaga from Waseda University explored ’How to Define and Respond to Economic Coercion.’
Associate Professor Weihuan moderated the third panel titled Industrial Policy for A Green Transition: Confronting Competition and Disruptions. Assistant Professor Mandy Meng Fang from City University of Hong Kong shared her thoughts on ‘Revisiting Green Industrial Policy in an Era of Disruption’. Professor Bryan Mercurio, Simon F.S. Li Professor of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong followed with his presentation on ‘The Impact of Green Industrial Policy’. Professor James Laurenceson, Director of Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology Sydney presented on ‘The inadequacies of a geopolitical frame in promoting resilient critical minerals supply chains’. Finally, Associate Professor Michelle Lim from Singapore Management University spoke about ‘A Bridge Over Troubled Waters? Can and Should Environmental and Economic Law Come Together to Realise the Aspirations of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework?’
Dr Anton Didenko, Member of CIBEL Centre, UNSW Law & Justice chaired the fourth panel themed ‘Regulatory Challenges and Cooperative Opportunities in the Digital Transformation’. Professor Deborah Healey, Co-Director of CIBEL Centre, UNSW Law & Justice shared her view on ‘Digital market power: issues and some solutions’. Ms Shailja Singh, International Trade Lawyer and Policy Advisor, Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and Ms Monika, Legal Consultant, Centre for WTO Studies and Centre for Research in International Trade, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade gave a presentation on ‘Decoding the Digital Trade Rules on Source Code Access - An Asia-Pacific Perspective’. Professor Heng Wang from Singapore Management University provided insights on ‘How to handle uncertainties in digital transformation? Case study of central bank digital currency’. Finally, Dr Marta Soprana, Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science discussed ‘Digital Economy Agreements as a Vehicle for AI governance’.
The second day of the conference featured a Keynote Mr John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary General of International Chamber of Commerce on ‘Global cooperation, but not as we know it: the business case for reforming multilateral governance’. Mr Denton’s thought-provoking presentation delved into the necessity of global governance, potential strategies for effective international cooperation, and the role of business in shaping global governance systems. The keynote session was chaired by Professor Andrew Lynch, Dean of UNSW Law and Justice.
The Young Scholars Workshop was chaired by Associate Professor Kun Fan, Member of CIBEL Centre, UNSW Law & Justice. Professor Michelle Ratton Sanchez Badin from São Paulo Law School of Fundacao Getulio Vargas in Brazil was invited to be the Commentator of the workshop. This year, presentations from the four young scholars addressed some of the existential challenges for the international economic legal order including climate actions, national security, digital trade and public health. Ms Pallavi Arora, Legal Consultant, Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade shared her research on ‘Common Concern of Humankind and The Dissemination of Technology: The Case for Tax Breaks’. Dr Xinyue Li, Associate Researcher, East China University of Political Science and Law followed with her presentation on ‘Pluralistic Reconciliation or Relative Politicization: Emerging Energy Security in International Trade Law Through Quantizing Geoeconomic’. Dr Xiaomeng Qu, Post-doc researcher of Southwest University of Political Science and Law presented on ‘Digital Trade Governance in Asia-Pacific Region’. Finally, Ms Yi Tang, PhD Candidate of the University of Hong Kong explored ‘Responding to Global Health Crisis: Opportunities and Challenges for Reforming General Public Policy Exceptions in Asia-Pacific IIAs’.
CIBEL centre would like to thank all speakers and audiences for participating in this year’s Global Network Conference.
To revisit the conference, you may access the recordings on the CIBEL website.