Edward K Y Chen Distinguished Lecture 2026
Navigating Asian Economies amidst a Challenging Geopolitical Landscape
嚴峻地緣政治下：亞洲經濟何去何從
The presentation slides are available **HERE**
Date: 7 October, 2026 (Wednesday)
Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Location: Loke Yew Hall, Main Building, The University of Hong Kong
Language: English
Asia’s economic success has been built on openness: open markets, deep regional integration, and the movement of trade, investment, technology and people across borders. Professor Edward K Y Chen was a strong advocate of this outward-looking approach and of Hong Kong’s role as a bridge between China, Asia and the global economy. His work and friendship have also been an important influence on Professor Mari Pangestu’s own thinking about trade, development and regional economic cooperation.
Today, Asia faces a very different external environment. Geopolitical tensions, strategic competition, trade restrictions, supply-chain disruptions and growing concerns over economic security are reshaping the conditions under which Asian economies operate. The challenge is not simply how to manage these risks, but how to strengthen resilience without undermining the openness and integration that have underpinned Asia’s growth.
Drawing on Indonesia’s experience and its role in ASEAN, Professor Pangestu will discuss how Asian economies can navigate this more uncertain environment while preserving the benefits of regional and global integration. She will explore the emerging economic security agenda, the need for greater resilience in trade and investment, and the role of ASEAN and other regional institutions in managing new risks.
The lecture will also consider how Asia can maintain an open regional order at a time when the global trading system is under pressure. Rather than choosing between openness and economic security, Asian economies can pursue practical cooperation among willing partners, strengthen regional institutions and build safeguards that allow economies to remain open while better prepared for shocks. This approach reflects the spirit of Professor Chen’s enduring contribution: that Asia’s prosperity is strengthened, not diminished, by deeper engagement with the region and the wider world.
Mari Pangestu is the Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Indonesia for International Trade and Multilateral Cooperation, and Vice Chair of the National Economic Council. She previously served as the President’s Special Envoy for Climate Finance and advised the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs on sustainability, energy transition, and blended finance (2023–2024).
From 2020 to 2023, she was Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships at the World Bank. Earlier, she was Indonesia’s Minister of Trade (2004–2011) and Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (2011–2014).
She has over 30 years of experience across academia, diplomacy, international organisations and government.
She is currently Professor of International Economics at the University of Indonesia and a Board Member of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta. She is also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and at the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, as well as an Honorary Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the Australian National University, and her PhD in economics from the University of California, Davis.
Professor Richard Y.C. Wong
Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, The University of Hong Kong
Mr. Hing Wang Fung
Convenor, Edward Chen Distinguished Lecture Series Organising Committee
Professor Mari Pangestu
Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Indonesia for International Trade and Multilateral Cooperation;
Vice Chair of the National Economic Council
Dr. Victor K. Fung
Chairman, Fung Investments
The Honourable Bernard Charnwut Chan
Chairman & President, Asia Financial Holdings Ltd.
Mr. Daniel R. Fung
Ambassador-at-Large, Hong Kong – ASEAN Foundation
Professor Edward K Y Chen
Honorary Professor, HKU Business School
*The rundown is subject to change
