The current world order is in flux, marked by geopolitical tensions, demographic shifts, and an escalating energy and climate crisis. In this splintering landscape of mounting risks, how can the Asia Pacific build resilience while adapting to rapid transformation?
CAPRI’s 2026 Annual Forum brought together policymakers, scholars, and industry leaders to create innovative policy solutions for a changing world. Opened by His Excellency José Manuel Barroso, former President of the European Commission, the forum explored energy transitions, the revival of competitiveness, the need to bolster social trust amid technological disruption and political polarization, and the implications of conflict in Ukraine and Iran for the Asia Pacific.
Welcoming this year’s speakers and guests, Professor Lin highlighted the significance of the Annual Forum as a platform for international exchange and introduced CAPRI’s dynamic research and convening activities that elevate the voice of the Asia Pacific on the global stage.
Member, CAPRI International Advisory Council
Chair, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (2020-2025)
President of the European Commission (2004–2014)
Prime Minister of Portugal (2002–2004)
In his opening keynote, Professor Barroso argued that the international community is entering not a period of deglobalization but of “re-globalization or regionalization.” Drawing on his experience advancing public–private partnerships as chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, he discussed how stakeholders around the world are investing in resilience while trying to balance it with efficiency. As major powers increasingly reshape the rules of diplomacy—fundamentally transforming the “grammar of politics”—Professor Barroso encouraged smaller economies and middle powers like those in the Asia Pacific to focus on the “three Ps”: promoting their strengths, preparing for multiple possible futures, and partnering across sectors with other countries to bolster resilience.
President-elect of Academia Sinica
Vice President (2016–2020) and Premier (2023–2024) of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Joining Professor Barroso onstage, Prof. Chen highlighted both leaders’ mutual commitment to resilience-focused governance, having served together on the Reform for Resilience Commission, a global initiative that incubated CAPRI. He then discussed the crucial leadership role that Taiwan and the Asia Pacific can play in generating forward-looking initiatives to boost resilience.
As global fragmentation reshapes markets and supply chains, competitiveness has reemerged as a strategic priority across the Asia Pacific. Meanwhile, technological advancement and AI are unlocking new frontiers for innovation, industry, and investment. This panel will feature Kristy Hsu, a specialist in regional trade, economic integration, and technology policy; Sangook Park, professor at Seoul National University, who has advised on innovation systems and science and technology policy in the office of the President of the Republic of Korea; and Elizabeth Thurbon, a prominent scholar of state-led development and strategic industrial policy in the Asia Pacific. With moderator Thompson Chau of Nikkei Asia, they will discuss whether national strategies can accelerate innovation, workforce transformation, and greener growth amid market and supply chain uncertainty.
Kristy Hsu, Senior Fellow, CAPRI; Director, Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center, Chung-Hua Institution of Economic Research
Sangook Park, Professor of Science and Technology Policy, Seoul National University; Former Senior Secretary to the President for Science and Technology, Office of the President of the Republic of Korea
Elizabeth Thurbon, Professor of International Political Economy, UNSW Sydney; Member, World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Equitable Transition
Moderated by Thompson Chau, Chair, Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club; Correspondent, Nikkei Asia
How can Asia-Pacific economies accelerate innovation, workforce transformation, and green growth amid market and supply chain uncertainty? During the first panel, leading scholars from across the region stressed that the future of competitiveness in the Asia Pacific depends on established regional strengths as well as institutional capacity to foster innovative statecraft and strategic investment in emerging sectors. Central to these endeavors is energy: Director Hsu cautioned that the AI boom—a core aspect of Taiwan’s competitiveness—has high energy demands, posing a problem for Taiwan, which imports 90% of its energy. To address this challenge, Prof. Thurbon encouraged governments to invest in green energy, arguing that ongoing reliance on fossil fuels is an insecurity multiplier that exposes countries to energy, economic, social, and geostrategic risks in addition to environmental degradation. Additionally, Prof. Park called on Asia-Pacific economies to reconfigure their interdependence, highlighting the potential for complementary industrial specialization between Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
As the green transition accelerates across the Asia Pacific, the key policy challenge has shifted from reaching ambitious climate targets to balancing equitable growth, energy security, and decarbonization—all while facing geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and capital constraints. Henry Ho, chairman of Tung Ho Steel and vice chairperson of the Chinese National Federation of Industries, will offer perspectives on the challenges facing Taiwan’s energy-intensive heavy industries, alongside the Renewable Energy Institute’s Mika Ohbayashi, a leading voice on Japan’s renewable transition and policy frameworks. Yoosuk Kim of the Chey Institute and SK Inc. will provide insights on “bankable” energy transitions in the Asia Pacific, and Ali Izadi-Najafabadi of BloombergNEF will analyze how energy markets across Asia can become greener and more competitive. Moderated by Kwangyin Liu of CommonWealth Magazine, the discussion will explore feasible pathways toward a secure and sustainable energy future.
Henry Ho, Board Member, CAPRI; Chairman, Tung Ho Steel; Vice Chairperson, Chinese National Federation of Industries; Member, Electricity Tariff Review Committee, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan
Ali Izadi-Najafabadi, Head of Asia-Pacific, BloombergNEF
Yoosuk Kim, President, Chey Institute for Advanced Studies
Mika Ohbayashi, Director, Renewable Energy Institute
Moderated by Kwangyin Liu, Deputy Managing Editor, CommonWealth Magazine
In today’s uncertain global environment, how can the Asia Pacific balance equitable growth, energy security, and decarbonization? Noting the long-running social division over energy policy in Taiwan, Chairman Ho argued that “nuclear and renewable energy should be in the same camp” to support the green transition. Director Ohbayashi observed that in Japan, the public increasingly passively accepts nuclear energy as a clean energy option, but whatever the energy source, the green transition requires a more distributed and flexible energy system. Citing the work of SK Group, President Kim further highlighted the need for innovative policy design and public-private partnership to give investors confidence in advancing sustainability goals. Turning to the increasing regional influence of China’s energy sector, Dr. Izadi-Najafabadi encouraged policymakers in the region to stratify their renewables approach and take advantage of Chinese manufacturing capacity while implementing measures to protect domestic industry and security.
Amid deepening polarization and fragmenting information ecosystems, social trust has become a critical constraint on effective policymaking. Translating scientific expertise into public understanding—and action—requires creative approaches to communication and collaboration. Leading virologist Yen Pottinger has leveraged her extensive experience at the intersection of epidemiology, policy advisory, and risk communication to advise governments and the US CDC on transforming complex health data into actionable guidance. As Taiwan’s foremost earthquake scientist, Kuo-Fong Ma uses her research to educate policymakers and the public about disaster risk reduction and preparedness. Moderated by Professor of Journalism and Communication Chiaoning Su, this session will combine insights from public health and disaster preparedness to explore how governments, experts, and civil society can be aligned to promote credible, science-based policy.
Kuo-Fong Ma, Senior Fellow, CAPRI; Distinguished Research Fellow and Director, Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica
Yen Pottinger, Senior Fellow, CAPRI; Former Senior Technical Advisor for Laboratory Surveillance at ICAP, Columbia University
Moderated by Chiaoning Su, Senior Fellow, CAPRI; Associate Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Public Relations and Director, Barry M. Klein Center for Culture and Globalization, Oakland University
An all-women fireside chat featuring three of CAPRI’s senior fellows addressed the erosion of social trust in evidence-based policymaking. The speakers tracked recent shifts in public attitudes toward scientists and scientific institutions, outlining how fragmented information ecosystems and deepening political polarization have complicated efforts to translate expertise into effective action—issues that are compounded by institutional messaging difficulties: “Despite 21st-century media infrastructure, we are still using 20th-century communication strategies,” said Dr. Pottinger. She called on universities to offer communication training courses for science students to prevent the politicization of science. To ensure these efforts are effective, Dr. Ma urged institutional actors to openly and honestly discuss risks with the public and invest in maintaining long-term trust grounded in scientific truth: “We have to build public trust before the crisis, not during.”
The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran are reshaping perceived risk and policy choices far beyond their own borders, offering critical lessons for resilience in the face of security, economic, and energy shocks. Shifting dynamics among the United States, China, Russia, and the European Union are also redefining the strategic landscape for policymakers in Asia. Stephen Mull, previous US Ambassador to Poland and Lithuania and lead coordinator in implementing the US-Iran nuclear deal, will join Matt Pottinger, former US Deputy National Security Advisor, to discuss their firsthand experience in US policy toward Europe and the Middle East and the implications of today’s conflicts for stakeholders in the Asia Pacific. The conversation will be moderated by Michael Wills, President of the National Bureau of Asian Research, who has expertise in geopolitics, international security, and the international relations of Asia.
Stephen Mull, Member, CAPRI International Advisory Council; Vice Provost for Global Affairs, University of Virginia; US Lead Coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation (2015–2017); US Ambassador to the Republic of Poland (2012–2015) and the Republic of Lithuania (2003–2006)
Matt Pottinger, CEO, Garnaut Global LLC; Former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor
Moderated by Michael Wills, President, National Bureau of Asian Research
As ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East reshape risk perceptions and policy choices far beyond their own borders, the Forum’s concluding fireside chat gave speakers with firsthand experience guiding and implementing US foreign policy the opportunity to share critical lessons for resilience in response to security, economic, and energy shocks. Amb. Mull outlined several future scenarios for the conflict in Iran, forecasting the continuation of hostilities and a potential opening for third parties like China to step in as mediators. Expanding the conversation to address how the Asia Pacific can respond to current tensions, he urged governments to innovate and create “flexible, coherent defense policy.” Mr. Pottinger echoed the call for Asia-Pacific stakeholders to build defensive resilience, observing that “new [military] technologies favor defenders” like Taiwan rather than aggressors. Accordingly, he encouraged Taiwan to “be a porcupine, but one that has sharp claws, too, and long arms.”
Vice Chair, CAPRI International Advisory Council
Chairman, Observer Research Foundation
Tying together the day’s discussions on multilateralism and the Asia Pacific’s role on the global stage, Mr. Joshi concluded the Forum by urging the international community to overcome the challenges that emerge when “interconnectedness itself has become a chokepoint.” Although the contemporary world order is being tested, as Mr. Joshi reminded the audience, similar periods in history show us that we need to pursue reinvention when under pressure, just as Taiwan has spent the last several decades making itself a “node of interdependence” within the global community.
Our third Annual Forum was full of timely conversations on resilience in the Asia Pacific amid an increasingly unsteady geopolitical landscape. With a keynote by Sir Robin Niblett and panelists including policymakers from Taiwan, business leaders from Asia, and scholars and other experts from across the globe, the forum explored challenges and regional responses to rising geopolitical tensions, climate and health vulnerabilities, and economic uncertainty, as well as Taiwan’s growing role in global education and exchange.
Distinguished Fellow and former Director and Chief Executive, Chatham House (2007–2022); author of The New Cold War: How the Contest Between the US and China Will Shape Our Century
US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (2019–2021)
Virginia’s 68th Governor (1998–2002)
Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Chair of the CAPRI International Advisory Council
Former Prime Minister of Australia (2015–2018)
Premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
