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Opinion
Asia’s future depends on looking beyond the West and its institutions
The countries with the best practical experience in hard development are in Asia, with much practical knowledge and experience to share
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Andrew Sheng is a former central banker and financial regulator, currently distinguished fellow at the Asia Global Institute, University of Hong Kong.
The old world order is being destroyed before our eyes. With volatility players making billions from US President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again announcements on the war in Iran, it is becoming increasingly clear that geopolitical rivalry is all about who controls energy, water, food and technology. Geography and ego determine destiny.
With China and Russia standing by to see how much damage their rivals can inflict on themselves, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have demonstrated that those who commit genocide ultimately commit moral suicide. It’s funny that Pentagon is requesting US$200 billion to wage war on Iran, while Tehran is claiming US$270 billion in war reparations. So far, no one has calculated the real losses to the Gulf states, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, let alone energy-starved developing countries. Wouldn’t it be cheaper for all just to settle for peace?
War aside, people who care about peaceful long-term stability have to address the difficult transition to a more just, inclusive and ecologically sustainable global order. Idealism is being shattered by the hard reality that we cannot go down on a linear trajectory of ruthless consumption faster than the planet can heal.
This is the stark message from the latest Circularity Gap Report, funded by the Circle Economy Foundation in Amsterdam to “help businesses, cities and nations thrive in the circular economy so they can stay competitive, build resilience and create lasting value”. The circular economy is theoretically sound. However, practice and implementation are the hard part. The old can find it hard to change; the young are not empowered to make change.
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