In 2025, we deepened our research and engagement, launched major multiyear projects, and strengthened international partnerships to bring Asia-Pacific perspectives to the world. We also expanded our network of senior fellows and hosted and participated in convenings connecting policymakers, business leaders, and experts across the region and beyond. Throughout, we have connected the younger generation with policy ideas.
In a year marked by deepening geopolitical rivalry, accelerating technological change, and mounting challenges to domestic governance, resilience has become a necessity. On both sides of the Pacific, policymakers must increasingly respond to shocks without compromising openness, growth, or public trust. Throughout 2025, a central question guiding CAPRI’s activities was how Asia-Pacific societies can navigate intensifying US–China competition while sustaining long-term socioeconomic resilience, strategic autonomy, and open policy discussion.
For CAPRI, 2025 was a year of consolidation and purposeful expansion. We deepened our research agenda, strengthened international partnerships, and broadened our engagement with policymakers, business leaders, and emerging talent across the region. Our work this year reflects how Asia-Pacific policymakers must balance security with growth, innovation with responsible governance, and national interests with regional cooperation. From energy transitions and health system strengthening to economic statecraft, AI governance, and entrepreneurship, CAPRI’s research and convening activities have illuminated the tradeoffs shaping policy choices. This work has highlighted pathways that can not only provide immediate solutions but also strengthen long-term resilience.
A defining feature of 2025 was the expansion of our international engagement. We formalized partnerships with leading global think tanks, including the Brookings Institution, and hosted dialogues with current and former policymakers that furthered our core mission: to enhance global resilience and promote innovative policy by drawing on the experience of the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, CAPRI USA continues to grow as an independent organization and key partner of CAPRI in the US.
Our Third Annual Forum featured Sir Robin Niblett, distinguished fellow and former director and chief executive of Chatham House. Several high-level roundtables convened policymakers, business leaders, think tank representatives, experts, and students in exploring how to build resilience at national, regional, and global scales amid growing fragmentation. In 2026, we look forward to welcoming our International Advisory Council member José Manuel Barroso, former chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and former president of the European Commission, to Taiwan as a keynote speaker at our Fourth Annual Forum.
New initiatives, such as our Roads to Resilience publication series, our trilateral conference on entrepreneurship and innovation in Copenhagen, and a multiyear project on navigating the green transition in the Asia Pacific, reflect CAPRI’s commitment to generating policy-relevant insights grounded in the region’s experience.
CAPRI has also continued to cultivate the next generation of policy thinkers through the Future Policy Leaders program. From welcoming high-school interns from Taipei to mentoring Harvard Kennedy School graduate thesis projects, cultivating talent remains integral to our mission. Resilient societies require not only sound policy ideas but also citizens of different generations who care about the challenges affecting their communities.
None of this work would be possible without the counsel and support of CAPRI’s Board of Directors, International Advisory Council, senior fellows, partners, and supporters or the dedication of our staff.
Despite persistent global challenges, CAPRI’s success and growth over the past 3 years have reaffirmed our confidence that comparative research, inclusive dialogue, and cross-sector collaboration can enhance global resilience and promote innovative policymaking. We look forward to continuing this work together in the year ahead.
Since Donald Trump assumed the US presidency in January 2025, unstable geopolitics and great power competition have intensified economic decoupling and shifted alliances, complicating policymakers’ efforts to build resilient societies. At CAPRI’s Third Annual Forum, keynote speaker Sir Robin Niblett, distinguished fellow and former director and chief executive of Chatham House, described this “New Cold War” as one defined not only by military and technological competition but also by competing economic models and governance systems between the US and China. Policymakers across the Asia Pacific must therefore continuously balance national security, economic growth, and social well-being. Building resilience on all these fronts necessitates practical cross-sectoral and cross-border partnerships.
CAPRI defines resilience as the ability to not only continue functioning in the face of disruption but also adapt, move on, and thrive. Our view of resilience goes beyond surviving shocks; it encompasses the ability to recover and respond with innovative strategies for growth at the community, national, regional, and global levels. In practice, resilience depends on many actors working across sectors to enable societies to flourish.
Resilience requires institutions that can make informed decisions despite uncertainty; policy frameworks that balance economic, energy, and security priorities; and sustained collaboration among government, industry, academia, civil society, and international partners. In an era shaped by persistent wicked problems, the ability to coordinate across sectors and borders is essential.
Across our comparative research and engagement initiatives, CAPRI shares best practices and perspectives that can inform innovative policymaking. Through pan-regional cooperation, the Asia Pacific can position itself as a region of innovation, dynamism, and sustainable growth.
Taiwan is currently facing intense internal and external pressures. Amid a constitutional crisis and politicized debates over energy, security, and social welfare policy, the innovative spirit that propelled Taiwan to prominence in the global high-tech economy must now extend to policymaking. In an analysis for the University of Nottingham’s Taiwan Research Hub titled “Anchoring Taiwan’s Future during Trump 2.0: Building Resilience from Within,” CAPRI’s Siwei Huang and Caroline Fried outlined how Taiwan must make difficult policy tradeoffs and continue to build resilience amid increasingly polarized policy debates at home and uncertainty from the US.
On May 12, 2025, CAPRI held its Third Annual Forum at Taipei New Horizon within Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. The forum brought together more than 300 in-person participants, including policymakers, business leaders, scholars, journalists, and over 100 students from leading universities in Taiwan and abroad. Speakers from across the region examined how intensifying US–China competition, climate and health risks, and economic fragmentation are reshaping the Asia Pacific and explored how cross-sector and cross-border collaboration can strengthen long-term societal resilience.
Sir Robin Niblett in his keynote argued that a new phase of US–China rivalry demands stronger regional alliances and “hybrid” resilience across energy and cyber domains. Taiwanese policymakers Chen Ming-Chi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Chiang Wan-An, Mayor of Taipei; and Lin Ching-Yi, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare, spoke on various aspects of Taiwan’s resilience.
Janet Pau of the Asia Business Council with Daniel Tsai, Lim Boon Heng, and Tak Niinami
Industry leaders from Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan delved into how the private sector can respond to uncertainties. Experts from across the Asia Pacific examined climate and health challenges in the Pacific Islands, economic resilience under tariff shocks, and the future of international research collaboration and academic exchange amid great power competition.
The Welcome Dinner for CAPRI’s International Advisory Council featured Anna Beth Keim, author of Heaven Does Not Block All Roads, and Sulmaan Wasif Khan, author of The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between, who discussed the history of Taiwan’s democracy and explored Taiwan’s experience in navigating great power rivalry, bringing together personal narratives and geopolitical analysis.
Trisha de Borchgrave with Anna Beth Keim and Sulmaan Khan on “Stories of Resilience: Tracing Taiwan’s History”
CAPRI and the Brookings Institution held their first joint event in Washington, DC, on December 12. This event explored how the rapid growth of AI and data centers is influencing energy policy across the Asia Pacific. Syaru Shirley Lin and Ryan Hass, director of the John L. Thornton China Center and the Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies at Brookings, emphasized that US stakeholders must understand how Taiwan and the region’s AI ambitions intersect with their energy, security, and governance concerns. Panelists R. David Edelman, nonresident senior fellow at Brookings; Gary Dirks, senior director and professor at Arizona State University; and Tarcy Sih-Ting Jhou, senior researcher at the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre, discussed the pressure that AI-driven electricity demand places on energy access, grid stability, and infrastructure planning. They also examined the policy tradeoffs facing economies seeking to strengthen their competitiveness in the global AI ecosystem.
Tarcy Sih-Ting Jhou (screen), Samantha Gross, Gary Dirks, and David Edelman in Washington, DC
At the Global Cooperation and Training Framework Workshop in Taipei on November 12, CAPRI’s Siwei Huang spoke about pathways and challenges to scaling up renewable energy in the Asia Pacific. He highlighted how efforts to increase renewables in the region are affected by ongoing geopolitical tensions, creating a complex environment for policymakers. As Asia-Pacific countries seek to advance the green transition while prioritizing economic growth and national security, the region’s deeply interconnected energy systems require cross-border cooperation for energy resilience.
Siwei Huang (far right) at the Global Cooperation and Training Framework Workshop, Taipei
To examine how growth, security, and sustainability intersect, CAPRI and CAPRI USA are launching a 4-year initiative, Navigating the Green Transition: Economic Growth and Energy Security in the Asia Pacific. This project is identifying innovative approaches that can accelerate the green transition while supporting regional economic dynamism and national security. We will engage experts in six economies in the region to assess the tradeoffs shaping decarbonization pathways and the policy choices required for durable resilience. Through this initiative, CAPRI is establishing a region-wide network of policymakers, private-sector leaders, and civil society stakeholders to build consensus on a green and prosperous future.
Nobel Laureate Yuan T. Lee advising CAPRI on how to accelerate the green transition
On February 19, Senior Fellows Shuhei Nomura and Yen Pottinger and Senior Research Associate Christine Cook presented their research findings on vaccine hesitancy in Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan. The roundtable on “Health Communication amid Misinformation and Disinformation: Vaccine Hesitancy in Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan” brought together experts in policy communication and public health from civil society, the media, and government, such as Chin-Hui Yang, Division Director at Taiwan’s CDC, alongside key figures from fact-checking organizations, public health institutions, media outlets, and universities.
To examine how growth, security, and sustainability intersect, CAPRI and CAPRI USA are launching a 4-year initiative, Navigating the Green Transition: Economic Growth and Energy Security in the Asia Pacific. This project is identifying innovative approaches that can accelerate the green transition while supporting regional economic dynamism and national security. We will engage experts in six economies in the region to assess the tradeoffs shaping decarbonization pathways and the policy choices required for durable resilience. Through this initiative, CAPRI is establishing a region-wide network of policymakers, private-sector leaders, and civil society stakeholders to build consensus on a green and prosperous future.
Jan-Willem Scheijgrond, Syaru Shirley Lin, and Ruth van Asperen at Philips, Amsterdam
To mark the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system, we hosted a hybrid roundtable with experts and former policymakers from Canada, Taiwan, and the US. Participants included Hongjen Chang, former president and CEO of the Bureau of NHI; Weng Foung Huang, adjunct professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University; Wei J. Chen, vice president of the National Health Research Institutes; Chunhuei Chi, professor at Oregon State University; Sian H. Tsuei, clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia; and Joseph Wong, senior fellow at CAPRI. The discussion with the NHI architects built on CAPRI’s research on Asia-Pacific health systems and covered the NHI’s achievements and structural fragilities. Participants underscored the need for enhanced transparency and accountability to ensure its long-term resilience.
Hybrid roundtable on Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system, September 17, 2025
At the PHSSR Summit at Expo 2025 Osaka, we shared insights from our research on the sustainability and resilience of the healthcare systems of six Asia-Pacific countries. Board Member Chang-Chuan Chan emphasized that digital health advancements must be matched with solutions to data fragmentation, inequity, and security challenges. Senior Fellow Shuhei Nomura presented a Japan-focused roadmap for responding early to noncommunicable diseases, advocating for multistakeholder collaboration.
Chang-Chuan Chan (second from left) and partner Jan-Willem Scheigrond (right) at the PHSSR Global Summit at Expo 2025 Osaka, June 30, 2025
As the Asia-Pacific hub of PHSSR, CAPRI has analyzed the health systems of Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands, and we are continuing with research on Singapore. Led by Senior Fellow Audrey Chia, we are identifying challenges and opportunities to strengthen the long-term resilience of Singapore’s healthcare system amid demographic and technological changes.
CAPRI and CAPRI USA established a partnership with the Brookings Institution to expand joint research, policy dialogue, and public engagement on the economic and strategic challenges shaping the Asia Pacific. The collaboration builds on several years of close cooperation, including CAPRI’s contribution to Brookings’ 2022 Democracy in Asia project, which convened experts from five democracies in Asia to assess technology and public health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this partnership, the three institutions aim to deepen comparative research and strengthen evidence-based policymaking across the region.
Experts from Taiwan (top row, from left): Jean Tsai, Kuo-Fong Ma, Kristy Hsu, Syaru Shirley Lin, Yushan Wu, Eve Chiu, Wen-Ti Sung
Delegation from Brookings (bottom row, third from left): Richard McGregor, Ryan Hass, Constanze Stelzenmüller, Philip Gordon, Jennifer Mason
On July 31, CAPRI convened a closed-door discussion with Senior Fellow Kristy Hsu and Mireya Solís, director of the Center for Asia Policy Studies at Brookings. In the discussion moderated by CAPRI Board Member Alicia García Herrero, experts from government, academia, and industry examined how Washington’s new tariff tactics are reshaping regional economic strategy. Participants highlighted the growing use of tariffs as coercive diplomacy, Taiwan and Japan’s constraints in navigating US–China competition, and the urgent need for agile policy responses in an era of uncertainty.
Kuo-Fong Ma discussing Taiwan’s disaster resilience with Brookings experts
Roads to Resilience showcases expert analysis on how the Asia Pacific can navigate growing political uncertainty to become more resilient. In the inaugural article, Mireya Solís, Kristy Hsu, and Alicia García Herrero analyzed how tariff diplomacy is reshaping global rules of trade and foreign policy, constraining Taiwan’s economic space, and challenging middle powers like Japan. They argued for new strategies grounded in regional cooperation and institutional resilience in response to the unpredictable actions of the US. Upcoming contributions will feature CAPRI senior fellows and international experts across diverse policy fields.
Kristy Hsu speaking on US trade policy toward Japan and implications for the Asia Pacific
We convened high-level expert discussions to explore the implications of increased semiconductor investment and onshoring efforts for Taiwan and the US. On October 3, we hosted Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow in our inaugural Leadership Forum, joined by business leaders, university presidents, policymakers, and diplomats. Dr. Crow explained how university–industry partnerships help prepare students to address social challenges. Lynette Ng, deputy head of corporate HR at TSMC, explained that both ASU and TSMC aim to democratize talent and develop a sustainable pipeline of diverse engineers, with TSMC’s focus on talent incubation worldwide driving its global partnerships. Syaru Shirley Lin highlighted how TSMC, ASU, and CAPRI share a commitment to cultivating innovative talent.
Building on these conversations, we partnered with the Ministry of Education’s Yushan Fellow Program and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University to convene a high-level roundtable on January 29, 2026. The roundtable featured University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella as well as policymakers, university leaders, business representatives, and experts from Taiwan and the US, including Cynthia Kiang, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs; legislators Yun Fan and Richard Chen; and Chi-Hung Lin, President of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Participants examined how evolving Taiwan–US ties are reshaping workforce development, focusing on the role of higher education in resilient innovation ecosystems.
(from left) Michal Crow, Lynette Ng, and Syaru Shirley Lin at a CAPRI roundtable on innovation and talent ecosystems
Suresh Garimella and Cynthia Kiang (left) at a CAPRI roundtable on innovation and talent ecosystems
CAPRI is exploring how AI is reshaping economic competitiveness and governance frameworks across regions. As part of the Global Innovation Reimagined trilateral conference and series, Nikolaj Munch Andersen, chief AI advisor in Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, examined Europe’s role in the global AI landscape, arguing that regulatory leadership must be matched by sustained investment in both talent and institutions. Yu-Che Chen, CAPRI senior fellow, analyzed how national economic competition and Big Tech shape AI governance, recommending regional regulation, civic AI literacy, and publicly supported infrastructure. Siwei Huang argued that the long-term influence of Asia-Pacific middle powers rests on strategic coherence in AI policy rather than the scale of AI models.
From July 22 to 24, CAPRI convened leading scholars, policymakers, and private-sector leaders from Asia, Europe, and North America at Carlsberg Akademi, Copenhagen, to explore the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in responding to the polarization, inequality, and geopolitical competition that democratic societies face. This inaugural trilateral conference, “Reimagining Entrepreneurship & Innovation for the 21st Century,” was co-hosted by CAPRI USA, the University of Virginia’s Project on Democracy and Capitalism, and Copenhagen Business School’s Rethinking Entrepreneurship in Society initiative. Experts from the three continents explored how entrepreneurial ecosystems can address policy challenges, including green energy, AI governance, industrial policy, and community-centered and women-led entrepreneurship.
The conference opened with a keynote by Denmark’s Tech Ambassador Anne Marie Engtoft Meldgaard, and the Asia-Pacific delegation included Board Members Chang-Chuan Chan, Alicia García Herrero, Syaru Shirley Lin, and Stan Shih. It also featured Senior Fellows Audrey Chia, Mara Rudman, Yu-Che Chen, and Joseph Wong. Participants emphasized inclusive innovation, balancing economic opportunity with security risks, and shaping markets to serve the public interest. They highlighted lessons for policymakers seeking to align entrepreneurial growth with democratic values and societal resilience.
Building on this year’s momentum, the 2026 conference will be held in Tokyo, focusing on AI resilience. It will be supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Rule of Law Programme Asia; the Institute for Business in Society and Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business; the Democracy and Capitalism Lab at the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy; and CAPRI USA.
Following the conference, CAPRI and CAPRI USA published the Global Innovation Reimagined series, a collection of participants’ analyses and reflections. The series explores how innovation and entrepreneurship can be aligned with inclusive growth, democratic values, and long-term societal resilience across Asia, Europe, and North America. Christina Lubinski, professor at Copenhagen Business School, examines the impact of entrepreneurialism on democratic systems. Additionally, Nic Lauten, executive director of the Kula Project and Stephen Cummings, professor at the University of Sydney, highlight the perspectives of rural and Indigenous communities, emphasizing community-oriented models of entrepreneurship.
As part of our Future Policy Leaders Program, we launched an internship in partnership with Taipei Wego Private Senior High School to introduce students to policy research and encourage them to engage with complex global challenges. Guided by CAPRI mentors, the students each developed a policy research paper on a topic of their choosing. The students presented their final papers to their peers and CAPRI staff.
We welcomed several university delegations in 2025, deepening our engagement with US undergraduate and graduate programs as well as the next generation of policy practitioners. For the third consecutive year, a University of Chicago delegation met with CAPRI to discuss how Taiwan can strengthen democratic institutions, build partnerships to manage geoeconomic uncertainty, and respond to shifting US–China dynamics. We also hosted Harvard Kennedy School and MIT Sloan School of Management students on their annual Taiwan Trek, discussing comparative policy research and the region’s interconnected policy challenges.
A student delegation from the University of Virginia at the third Annual Forum
We supported two Harvard Kennedy School students developing capstone projects on topics aligned with our research priorities. Former CAPRI intern Joe Chiang analyzed the political and economic consequences of historical unilateral export controls by the US and examined likely responses in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Pooja Joshi developed a policy study on strengthening pharmaceutical-supply-chain resilience across Indonesia, Laos, and Taiwan. Both students worked with CAPRI to incorporate Asia-Pacific policy perspectives into their projects. Following graduation, Pooja is continuing her consulting career with Bain & Company, and Joe will return to Taiwan to start a career in the Corporate Planning Organization at TSMC.
Harvard Kennedy School students Pooja Joshi (left) and Joe Chiang (right) presenting their capstone projects at CAPRI
At the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation’s NSP+ Think Tank Summit on October 8, 2025, CAPRI’s Caroline Fried joined experts from Japan, the Philippines, and the US for a panel on the next stage of Taiwan’s Indo-Pacific partnerships. The discussion highlighted how the Asia-Pacific region can empower emerging talent to co-design a shared future through innovative policy ideas. She outlined how CAPRI’s programs align with this goal by connecting forward-thinking talent across the region to generate innovative solutions.
Caroline Fried (far right) at the 2025 NSP+ Think Tank Summit, Taipei
On November 6, Plamen Tonchev, head of the Asia Unit at the Institute of International Economic Relations, Greece, visited CAPRI to discuss China’s engagement in Europe’s southeastern periphery (ESEP), which spans 21 countries, including Egypt, Georgia, Russia, and Turkey. Drawing on his recent report, Mr. Tonchev explored China’s motivations, tools, and constraints in security, infrastructure, arms sales, and telecommunications. Participants noted that Taiwan’s expertise in cyber and gray-zone tactics offers valuable lessons for ESEP countries seeking economic and societal resilience.
Plamen Tonchev on “China in the Security Conundrum of Europe’s Southeastern Periphery and Implications for Taiwan”
Board Members Syaru Shirley Lin and Harry Harding delivered the opening keynote with Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer at Oslo’s Financial Industry Day on April 8, hosted by Finance Norway. They discussed the macro-level dynamics of US–China strategic competition and offered perspectives from Taiwan and the Asia Pacific on strengthening societal resilience amid growing geoeconomic uncertainty.
Jeromin Zettelmeyer with Syaru Shirley Lin and Harry Harding at Financial Industry Day, Oslo
A CAPRI delegation engaged with leading policy institutions and experts in Tokyo, including the Japan Institute of International Affairs and Genron NPO’s Tokyo Conference 2025. In New Delhi, Sunjoy Joshi, vice-chair of CAPRI’s International Advisory Council and chairman of the Observer Research Foundation, delivered opening remarks in the Raisina Dialogue. Alicia García Herrero shared insights on shifting global trade and economic strategy.
Alicia García Herrero (second from right) at the Raisina Dialogue, March 18, 2025
The Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation USA Foundation (CAPRI USA) is a key partner of CAPRI in the US. Established in 2024, CAPRI USA is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in Delaware. It serves as a trans-Pacific platform connecting policy communities in Asia and the US to examine challenges to governance, economic resilience, and innovation.
CAPRI USA works closely with CAPRI in convening scholars, policymakers, and business leaders to exchange perspectives and develop practical policy insights grounded in Asia-Pacific experiences. It also partners with institutions in the US and abroad to host discussions and collaborative events, facilitating the cross-regional exchange of ideas.
