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Trump in Asia
Will populism return?
Inside Kim Jong Un’s world
MCI(P) 096/08/2017 December 2017 – January 2018
Cyber Security
DANGER
LURKS Are we prepared for the risks arising
from increased connectivity,
when “smart” devices could
be used against us?
Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
Smarter devices,
bigger threats
Dear Readers,
D
ay to day, our devices seem to be getting smarter, but also more
vulnerable to breaches and attacks. Danger lurks when and
where we least expect it, exposing consumers, companies and
countries to the global threat of cybercrime.
Our Senior Technology Correspondent Irene Tham takes a hard look
at the phenomenon and the attempts to regulate this sector.
We also review United States President Donald Trump’s recent visit
to Asia that took him to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the
Philippines, with reports from our US Bureau Chief Nirmal Ghosh and
our bureaus. The full report can be found on www.straitstimes.com.
Meanwhile, our contributor Joseph Chinyong Liow shares his view on
the ramifications of Mr Trump’s visit on US-Asia ties, in his article.
Major changes in China and Japan make for compulsory reading for
anyone interested in Asia. Our China Bureau Chief Goh Sui Noi and
Associate Editor Ravi Velloor give their takes on developments in the
two countries in this issue.
Looking ahead, we can expect several significant elections up in 2018
and 2019. Our writers give you a heads-up on these.
And, with North Korea continuing to hog the headlines, our
Associate Editor Rahul Pathak takes you on an inside trip into
Pyongyang to experience day-to-day life in the country. You can also
view videos filmed while he was there recently, on our website.
Finally, to help you plan some much-deserved time off to recharge
next year, our writers offer some insider tips on where to head off to
over the many long weekends in 2018.
Enjoy, and thank you for reading The Straits Times Asia Report.
Best regards
Warren Fernandez
Editor-in-Chief
The Straits Times
& SPH’s English, Malay and Tamil Media Group
1
Trump in Asia
Will populism return?
Inside Kim Jong Un’s world
Contents
MCI(P) 096/08/2017 December 2017 – January 2018
Cyber Security
DANGER
LURKS Are we prepared for the risks arising
from increased connectivity,
when “smart” devices could
be used against us?
3 When smart devices turn into ‘zombies’
6 Protecting data. Protecting profitability
Asia Report
December 2017 – January 2018
8 Trump’s transactional ties with Asia
Warren Fernandez
Editor-in-Chief, The Straits 10 Is US engagement back on track in East Asia?
Times & SPH’s English, Malay
and Tamil Media (EMTM) Group 13 Xi’s strong grip on power causes uncertainty
Sumiko Tan
Managing Editor, EMTM &
Executive Editor,
15 All eyes on...
The Straits Times
Tan Ooi Boon 16 How will Asia take to a ‘normal’ Japan?
Senior Vice-President
(Business Development), EMTM 18 2018: Populism returns?
Paul Jacob
Associate Editor,
The Straits Times
20 Free trade believers must hold fast &
What China’s new era might hold
Eugene Leow
Head, Digital Strategy, EMTM
21 China and India should now join the TPP
Irene Ngoo
Vice-President (Editorial
Projects Unit) EMTM 23 A new dawn for Asia-Pacific trade
Shefali Rekhi
Asia News Network Editor, 24 The disruptor wins it all
The Straits Times &
Editor, ST Asia Report
26 Lessons from the men who made America great
Copy Desk
Jack Hee 28 ‘Never underestimate the power of a shoe’
Chief Sub-editor,
The Straits Times 31 Inside the ‘other’ Korea
Design
Peter Williams
34 Will Japan’s creative appeal last?
Head, Visual, EMTM &
Art Editor, The Straits Times 36 Nine short getaway ideas for nine long weekends in 2018
Anil Kumar
Graphic Artist
Chng Choon Hiong
Cover photo illustration
Editorial research
Kirstin Yip
Circulation
Eric Ng
Head, Circulation Marketing
Tommy Ong We welcome your feedback and views
Senior Manager (Circulation) Letters can be sent to
stasiareport@sph.com.sg
Reach out to us:
For advertising enquiries:
Sharon Lim Ling Published by
Senior Manager The Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH)
(Business Development)
Printed by
limls@sph.com.sg KHL Printing Co Pte Ltd
Circulation & subscription:
Nadia Ithnin All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or
Senior Executive (Circulation) in part without written permission from the publisher.
nadiai@sph.com.sg
Cover Story
Irene Tham
Senior Technology Correspondent
When smart
devices turn
into ‘zombies’
Cyber criminals
are turning to the
Internet of Things
to wreak havoc on
society.
I
t could have been a scene out of
a zombie-apocalypse movie: On
Oct 21, 2016, a piece of malware
Mirai crept into hundreds of
thousands of traffic cameras and
used them to bring about the largest
Internet disruption of its kind in history. Report predicted that these “smart”
The victim: the servers of Dyn, a appliances and devices will reach
company that controls a chunk of the 15.7 billion in 2018, exceeding the
Internet’s domain name system. Access total number of mobile phones and
to websites, including The New York computers, which are estimated to be
Times, Spotify, Twitter, The Guardian, 10.4 billion combined.
Netflix, Reddit and CNN, was cut off, PwC Singapore’s Asia-Pacific cyber
while Dyn’s servers remained under and financial crime leader Vincent Loy ST ILLUSTRATION: MIEL
attack for about 24 hours. said: “As the prevalence of the Internet
The Mirai-controlled traffic cameras of Things increases, the ability to use
turned into an army of “zombies” that these equipment as a weapon increases.” based on data it gathered in the first six
repeatedly overwhelmed Dyn’s systems The problem is that there is no months of this year.
with Internet traffic in what was a regulation on how IoT devices should For instance, the Asia-Pacific ac-
distributed denial of service attack. be secured, for instance, by encryption counted for more than 35 per cent of
The attack confirmed longstanding technologies. Device makers are also not all ransomware detections, while the
fears that “smart” devices, also known as required by law to update their firmware Europe, Middle East and Africa region
the Internet of Things (IoT), are a rising regularly with the latest security patches came in a far second at 25 per cent.
destructive force to be reckoned with. or to alert consumers of such patches. Trend Micro said this is because
The disruptions are widely attributed to But this could change as lawmakers the Asia-Pacific had a large number
be the first IoT security breach. play catch-up with technological of unpatched systems through which
Welcome to the new digital age, advancements, said experts. malware could enter a corporate
where increasingly connected everyday network and wreck havoc.
appliances like a refrigerator, Wi-Fi
router and Web camera can become a
FINANCIAL For instance, financial losses from
the global spread of the WannaCry
threat to civilisation. MOTIVATION ransomware in May that disrupted
In its 2017 annual Internet Security While IoT devices belong to the new hospitals and factories globally was
Threat Report, cyber security solutions frontiers of cyber attacks, traditional estimated to be US$4 billion (S$5.4
firm Symantec estimated that an average desktops and servers were still the most billion), according to cyber risk
IoT device was attacked once every attacked platforms. modelling firm Cyence.
two minutes when the spread of Mirai Cyber security software firm Trend Most hackers are financially motivat-
peaked at the end of last year. Micro said the Asia-Pacific was most ed. In the case of the WannaCry ransom-
The Dyn attack could just be the vulnerable to ransomware and malware ware, hackers demanded US$300 in Bit-
beginning. A 2016 Ericsson Mobility infection and online transaction attacks coin to unlock a company’s computers.
3
Cover Story
Many sectors in the Asia-Pacific could The attacks on the universities follow
have been hit. But thanks to an accidental the discovery in February this year of
move by a 22-year-old researcher in the theft of the personal data of 850
Britain, identified as “MalwareTech”, national servicemen and Ministry of
WannaCry’s spread was halted. Defence (Mindef) staff – said to be a
“carefully planned” attack that exploited
STATE-SPONSORED a vulnerability in a Mindef server.
ATTACKS CYBER SECURITY
An increasing number of sophisticated
hacking groups are state-sponsored. LEGISLATION
The most high-profile attack last year Amid global fear of spying and cyber
was committed against the Democratic espionage, many countries are stepping
Party in the run-up to the United States up their defences.
presidential election. For instance, China’s far-reaching cyber
Last December, the US Central security law took effect on June 1 this
Intelligence Agency discovered that year. Failure to comply may carry fines
Russian hackers were able to break of up to 1 million yuan (S$204,000) and
into the Gmail account of top-ranking criminal charges.
Democrat John Podesta and access some The law aims to protect Chinese data
60,000 e-mails, presumably to help Mr PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: CHNG CHOON HIONG – particularly information on Chinese cit-
Donald Trump in the election.
The same hackers are known to The hackers were using a roundabout
have been active for a number of years, way of stealing government-related
engaging in targeted espionage in the US information – NTU and NUS are involved The cyberthreat in Asia
and Europe. in government-linked projects for the
In another example, cyber attacks defence, foreign affairs and transport • Recent research revealed that the
on Ukraine’s power grid in 2015 cut off sectors. Asean digital economy is expected to
power to an area about 20 times the size The hackers had been executing grow to about US$200 billion (S$270
of Singapore in the depth of winter. malware or codes stealthily for some billion) over the next 10 years, with
Singapore was not spared. In April this time – a technique known as advanced e-commerce accounting for US$88
year, it was discovered that hackers had billion, raising the need to significantly
persistent threats, a device employed by
improve cyber security.
broken into the networks of the National well-resourced entities such as political
University of Singapore (NUS) and activists and governments. These hackers • Ransomware attacks have been
Nanyang Technological University (NTU). soaring, and the number of such
typically infiltrate networks via phishing.
incidents increased by 50 per cent
last year.
Different types of cyber attacks • Two-thirds of Asia-Pacific organisations
have increased cyber security budgets
from the last financial year, with up to
Cybercrime worldwide cost $400 billion in 2015 and is forecast to reach $2 trillion in 2019 74 per cent allocating sizeable budgets
(5 to 15 per cent of total IT spend) to
Data on cyber security.
the way to
a website • In financial year 2016-17, 52 per cent
WEBSITE SERVER of organisations in the Asia-Pacific
reported a cyber security breach. And
of them, 30 per cent have reported
financial losses of over US$100,000
Personal DNS: Domain from those breaches.
Computer Name System
• Delaying cyber security measures
could cost businesses to lose US$3
trillion by 2020. The median time
between a breach and its discovery
in Asia was 520 days, three times
MALWARE
“Malicious the global average, according to
DDoS
software” such as Distributed Denial of research by Mandiant, an American
ransomware, Service: A network of cybersecurity firm.
designed to computers overload a
damage or control • Asia was also 80 per cent more likely
server with data, to be targeted by hackers than other
a computer system shutting it down
parts of the world. It said an average
of 3.7GB in data had been stolen in
PHISHING MAN-IN-THE- CROSS-SITE SQL INJECTION each attack, which could be tens of
Fake official e-mails MIDDLE ATTACKS SCRIPTING ATTACK thousands of documents. However, the
(bank, Paypal) link to Hackers insert Injects malicious code Corrupts data to make bulk of the incidents were not made
fake websites, where themselves between into a website which a server divulge data,
victims log in, giving up your computer and targets the visitor’s such as credit-card public because the region lacks breach
their passwords the Web server browser numbers, usernames disclosure laws.
Sources: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SYMANTEC STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS
SOURCES: SINGAPORE MINISTRY OF
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION WEBSITE,
PALO ALTO NETWORKS, VERIZON, KPM,
4 MANDIANT, BBC
Cover Story
izens or relating to national security
– from foreign spying by requiring
them to be kept on domestic serv-
Major cyber attacks
ers. Firms may need to undergo a WannaCry attack
security review before moving data This year, the world was struck by a worm and
out of China. ransomware program known as WannaCry, which broke
In July 2015, Germany also passed out in May and hit 150 countries, locking up hundreds of
legislation ordering that over 2,000 thousands of computers. Factories, hospitals, shops and
schools were among those affected. The United States,
essential service providers – includ-
Britain, Russia, China and Taiwan were among the hardest
ing those in transport, healthcare hit, according to experts.
and telecom – implement new min- Qihoo, a Chinese Internet security company, said the
imum security standards and notify attack infected close to 30,000 organisations in China,
the German authorities of suspected with 4,000 being educational institutions. Taiwan was put
cyber attacks on their systems. Com- on high alert after reportedly being one of the top targets.
panies that failed to implement secu-
rity measures by July this year face
fines of up to €100,000 (S$160,000). HBO hack
The new rules also oblige telcos In August, cable company
HBO was the target of a massive
to store customer call and Internet breach. Among the information
traffic data for up to six months to stolen were plot lines of
help with investigations following a popular TV series Game Of
cyber attack, potentially violating Thrones, unaired episodes of
privacy rights. Curb Your Enthusiasm and
Singapore’s newly proposed Cy- sensitive internal documents,
NotPetya attack including actors’ personal
bersecurity Bill bears similar wide NotPetya struck in June, locking up Windows information. The hackers
powers. Firms must surrender any in- devices globally, including at multibillion-dollar claimed to have swiped 1.5
formation requested when the Cyber companies like FedEx, Cadbury and Merck. terabytes of information in
Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk, which total, demanding a ransom of
investigates a suspected cyber attack, operates one of Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port US$6 million (S$8.1 million).
with the proposed Bill taking prec- Trust’s three terminals, also had its operations Personal details of Game Of
there ceased due to the attack. Thrones stars were leaked as
edence over bank and privacy rules
NotPetya is known as a “wiper”, with the aim part of the back and forth demands.
that prohibit data sharing. of causing massive irreversible destruction of data. Not long after, hacker group OurMine, which
Among other things, the Bill aims Petya, of which NotPetya is a twisted version, has a history of compromising high-profile sites
to blur the line between cyberthreats had also affected computers last year, but that and Twitter accounts, hijacked HBO’s main
to the public sector and the private had been as ransomware, where money had been Twitter account, along with those of several
sector by plugging security gaps in demanded for the return of stolen data. Ukraine, HBO shows.
critical information infrastructure, the US, China and India were among the worst
affected, along with Russia, Britain and Japan.
such as those used to run banking, Some software researchers allege that Russian
telecoms, transport, healthcare and hackers were behind the attack, as Ukraine was Bangladesh bank theft
energy essential services. Whether the first and worst-hit country. One of the largest-known bank thefts in
they are private- or public-sector or- history to date, the February 2016 Bangladesh
ganisations, they must report attacks central bank theft, will go down in history for
and breaches within hours – recog- Malaysian data breach not being even worse than it could have been.
The Malaysian authorities are in the midst Over US$100 million was compromised in the
nising that cyber criminals do not theft, and could have risen to US$1 billion if the
of investigating one of the largest customer
respect such boundaries. data leaks in Asia involving 46 million mobile hackers had not made a crucial spelling mistake
Explaining why Singapore needs phone users. According to a police chief, they in one of the transfers. The Bangladesh bank
such a Bill, CSA chief executive were most recently investigating an IP address says it has recovered some of the money and
David Koh had said: “The current in Oman, which they traced the leak to. is trying to recover more from the Philippines.
legislation, the Computer Misuse The data breach had taken place in 2014,
where at one point, the person-
and Cybersecurity Act, focuses al details of tens of millions
more on cybercrime. As the (threat) of Malaysians were put Philippine government website hack
landscape evolves, it is better to have online. Malaysia’s to- In July last year, at least 68 government
an omnibus Bill that oversees the tal population is 32 websites were subjected to attacks, including
cyber security of (essential services) million. Information attempts of hacking and defacement, slowdowns
compromised included and distributed denial of service.
as a whole.” mobile phone num- According to The Philippine Star, initial
Convinced that Singapore should bers, identification card investigation supposedly pointed to an entity
not have it any other way, lawyer numbers and SIM card operating in the Netherlands. Cyber security
Gilbert Leong, a senior partner at data. It is also possible that firm FireEye claims that the hackers are linked
the breach could have taken to Vietnam’s government, likely targeting the
Dentons Rodyk & Davidson, said: place during a data transfer and could have
“The far-reaching Bill is justifiable in Philippines to gather information related to the
been a situation that crooked employees took
the light of the potential damage from South China Sea dispute.
advantage of, according to the Inspector-Gener-
state-sponsored cyber espionage.” al of Police in Malaysia. — KIRSTIN YIP
PHOTOS: REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, HBO
SOURCES: INDIAN EXPRESS, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES, LA TIMES, REUTERS, SC MEDIA, THE PHILIPPINE
itham@sph.com.sg STAR, THE REGISTER, THE STRAITS TIMES, THE VERGE, VIET NAM NEWS, VOA NEWS, WASHINGTON TIMES, WIRED
5
Cover Story
Protecting data.
Protecting profitability
Prevention is better than cure in
cyber security
Irwan Pang A police investigator commented
that the bank was vulnerable because
Thirdly, keep in mind that cyberse-
curity is everyone’s responsibility, not
it lacked a firewall and used cheap, just the IT department’s.
A
second-hand equipment. Conversations among different busi-
t the turn of this millenni- The loss of millions of dollars could ness units let you better identify critical
um,big cybersecurity threats have been prevented if the bank had vulnerabilities, understand end-user be-
were easily minimised as invested in sophisticated equipment. haviour, plan for an efficient and robust
information technology Such losses go beyond the money cybersecurity strategy and get the sup-
(IT) had an iron grip on user access to to loss of customers, difficulty in port needed to roll out business-wide
applications and data. acquiring customers, decline in profits security initiatives to ensure that you
Today’s landscape is different. The re- and investor confidence. retain your customers’ trust.
cent WannaCry ransomware attack had A cavalier attitude towards cyber-
a huge impact, from British healthcare security can ruin a company. It is no
The writer is director, application
systems and French carmakers to Russian longer the question of whether cyber-
security, Asia-Pacific, at F5 Networks.
banks, and Singapore companies, too. security should be part of a holistic
Singapore is charging forward in growth strategy; it is now a matter of
defence, with the recent draft of the how to invest.
Cyber Security Bill, which aims to First, prioritise what you need to
improve cyber resilience. protect. In a mobile applications-de-
Such moves may lead one to think pendent environment, identify all apps
that cybersecurity has become a top in your network, whether deployed
priority for all organisations but this is by IT or those installed by employees,
not the case. and monitor those that might be risks.
Accenture reports that, in Singapore, Second, security assessment must be
only 35 per cent of cybersecurity strate- the first thought, and not an afterthought.
gies focus on protecting customer data, Having a strategic IT programme will
compared to the global average of 49 not only protect your data but also
per cent. enhance your customers’ expe-
This is despite the country facing more rience and their confidence
than 130 targeted cyberattacks per year, in your brand.
higher than the global average of 106.
A survey found that 91 per cent
of Singapore firms sought specialist
guidance in cybersecurity but 75 per
cent did not have dedicated IT budgets
and planning processes.
Global consulting group Oliver Wy-
man has reported that cybercrime is
becoming a greater risk when doing
businesses in the Asia-Pacific as com-
pared to North America and Europe.
In Singapore, PwC said that 43 per
cent of companies here were affected
by cybercrime in 2016, compared to
just 15 per cent in 2014.
In 2016, unknown hackers stole more
than US$100 million from Bangladesh
Bank by breaching the computer
systems.
ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO
6
Cover Story
Building better defences against cyber attacks
Jean-Claude Broido In order to address some of these
W
challenges, IBM Security is training a
hen the recent Wan- new generation of cognitive systems to
naCry ransomware understand, reason and learn about con-
attack hit the global stantly evolving security threats.
These IBM systems are built with se-
headlines, thousands
curity instincts and expertise into new
of security practi-
ST ILLUSTRATION defences that analyse research reports,
tioners around the world flocked to threat
web text, threat data and other securi-
intelligence feeds to help streamline their
ty-relevant structured and unstructured
investigations.
– across an organisation’s data, applica- data – just like security professionals do
While the security community learnt every day – but at a scale never seen
many valuable lessons from this attack, tions, mobile, IOT and endpoint devices.
Non-integrated, point-product secu- before.
it is impossible to say that a strike of this This is the essence of what IBM calls
magnitude will not happen again. rity solutions are insufficient, which is
cognitive security (also referred to as
As WannaCry demonstrated, the a concern when we consider that many
machine learning or AI in the industry).
cost of ransomware goes far beyond the organisations can use up to 50 security
Lastly, from a collaboration perspec-
ransom fee demanded to get access to products from as many as 80 vendors.
tive, IBM has taken a lead in driving
your files – it brings down businesses It takes constant monitoring and
collaboration between the private and
and in some cases even threatens lives. maximum use of data to find attacks
public sectors, enterprises and security
According to a Ransomware Damage and abnormal behaviour before damage
vendors. No single organisation can effec-
Report by Cybersecurity Ventures, it is done. But the world produces over
tively stop the spread of malware across
is predicted that global ransomware 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day,
industries, nations and individuals, and
damage costs will exceed US$5 billion and 80 per cent of it is unstructured.
by sharing threat information and new
(S$6.79 billion) in 2017, up from US$325 This means it’s expressed in natural
tools, organisations can proactively hunt
language – spoken, written or visual –
million in 2015. for, and stop, attacks before they ever
that a human can easily understand but
The 21st century organised crime of take hold.
traditional security systems can’t.
cybercrime is a reality today, with 80 As humans, we sense and respond to
The reality is that there are thousands
per cent of cyberattacks driven by highly situations using a lifetime of experience
of security blogs posted every day with
organised crime rings in which data, tools and learning. When an organisation’s
detailed threat intelligence.
and expertise are widely shared. Juniper security systems can do the same,
It’s impossible for a security analyst to
Research estimates that cybercrime will it arms its security professionals
know everything that’s in them, and tra-
cost the global economy more than US$2 with the collective knowledge and
ditional security is unable to analyse and
trillion by 2019 and that it represents instinct to respond to threats with
apply this insight the way an analyst can.
what could be the greatest threat to every greater confidence at scale and speed.
This is why the most challenging
company in the world. A cognitive business out-thinks and
security problems require people to
Given the rate, pace and sophistication outpaces threats with security systems
make sound decisions about what to
of attacks, the days of using “moat & that can understand, reason and learn.
act on and what is a false alarm. In fact,
firewall” security are no longer enough. the best security professionals build their
Like a human immune system, today’s body of knowledge every day through The writer is vice-president, IBM Security
cybersecurity defences need to find the experience, talking with colleagues, for the Asia-Pacific.
attacks that will eventually breach a pe- attending conferences and staying up- The articles in this section are excerpts of
rimeter, quarantine and remediate them to-date on research. those published in The Business Times.
7
US-Asia
Nirmal Ghosh
US Bureau Chief
Trump’s transactional
ties with Asia
ST ILLUSTRATION: MIEL
Asian leaders rolled on him, and opportunities to present
his messages strongly.”
or to rival “the Chinese exercise of soft
power through financing and construc-
out the red carpet for However, she added: “He should not tion of infrastructure in the region”.
the US President on mistake the flattery of his Asian hosts Ms Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for
with acquiescence, deference or even Asia and the director of the China Power
his first trip to Asia, respect.” Project at CSIS, said Mr Trump mostly
but expected more. The decision of the 11 remaining sig- stuck to the script, and the messages
natories of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in South Korea were particularly well
U
(TPP) to pursue a new version of the received.
nited States President trade pact without the US was a harbin- She added that Mr Trump’s perfor-
Donald Trump’s first Asia ger of an era of regional free trade ar- mance was “weakest” at the Asia-Pa-
trip gets a passing grade, chitecture without the US, analysts said. cific Economic Cooperation (Apec)
but he was outshone by The US pulled out of the TPP in January. summit in Danang, Vietnam. “Trump
Chinese President Xi Jin- “Other countries are moving on and doesn’t have a credible economic pol-
ping, US-based Asia analysts said. sending a message that the US will not icy. Countries in the TPP who don’t
Mr Trump exceeded expectations derail the efforts that they believe are already have a bilateral free trade
but “only because those expectations in their interest,” Ms Hayden said. agreement with the US appear not to
were so low”, said Ms Shannon Hayden, McLarty Associates managing director want one,” she said.
associate director of the South-east Asia James Keith – a former US ambassador Mr Xi’s embrace of globalisation, and
Programme at the Centre for Strategic to Malaysia who also served in China – his “community of common destinies”,
and International Studies (CSIS) in said Mr Trump had strengthened US’ al- resonated more than Mr Trump’s
Washington. liances in North-east Asia with this visit. “America First”, she added.
She said: “In his mind, he probably But he added that Mr Trump looked to
thinks the trip went very well – much have ceded leadership on the economic
pomp and pageantry, lots of attention front, offering little to succeed the TPP nirmal@sph.com.sg
8US-Asia
JAPAN SOUTH KOREA
Friends yes, but partners? Toned-down rhetoric
D B
uring his visit to Japan, efore the visit of US
US President Donald President Donald
Trump flaunted his Trump, there were fears
close friendship with Prime that he would threaten to rain
Minister Shinzo Abe, who down fire and fury once more
lavished him with caps on North Korea.
emblazoned with “Donald and But in South Korea, the
Shinzo, Make Alliance Even unpredictable Mr Trump was
Greater” and a wagyu dinner. praised instead for a “very
They bonded over golf and presidential” speech in the Korean Parliament, which rallied global
exchanged fist bumps. support in addressing North Korea’s nuclear issue. He was also
Much has been made lauded for showing sincerity in reaffirming American commitment
about the meeting and both to South Korea’s defence and issuing a firm warning to the North.
countries came away confident in their security alliance over issues He had also refrained from dialling up pressure on Seoul to
such as North Korea and the Indo-Pacific. However, moments in their reduce the trade deficit with the US or to take on more of the
joint press conference gave critics some pause, as these betrayed defence cost-sharing burden.
the leaders’ divergent views on a variety of issues. Mr Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae In agreed on
On dealing with North Korea, for instance, Mr Trump urged the need for South Korea to strengthen its own defence against
Japan to buy more US weaponry that will allow it to “shoot down the North, and for South Korea to buy more military equipment
North Korean missiles from the sky”. On his part, Mr Abe said any from the US. Still, some critics said Mr Trump fell short of offering
interception will be “closely coordinated with the US”. a concrete solution to the nuclear stalemate.
While Japan has stressed that it is an equal partner with the — Chang May Choon
US in their bilateral alliance, critics wonder if Mr Trump instead
regards Japan as subservient to the US. The US leader implied in a
put-down that the Japanese economy is second fiddle to the US’,
and even interjected during a question meant for Mr Abe about CHINA
Japan’s national security. Constructive approach to ties
C
“The Japanese people are thriving, your cities are vibrant and
you’ve built one of the world’s most powerful economies. I don’t hinese media were
know if it’s as good as ours,” said Mr Trump. Then turning to Mr mostly positive about
Abe, he added: “I think not, okay? And we’re going to try to keep US President Donald
it that way. But you’ll be second.” Trump’s visit to Beijing, saying
— Walter Sim his and Chinese President Xi
Jinping’s constructive approach
to handling bilateral relations
made for smoother ties ahead.
Mr Trump’s three-day visit
had infused some warmth into the difficult relationship between
THE PHILIPPINES the world’s two most powerful nations.
Mending ties, but at a cost China gave its important visitor not just a red carpet welcome,
M
which included tea at the Forbidden City, but also more than US$250
r Trump has mended billion (S$340 billion) in commercial deals that Mr Trump said was
the United States’ a “very, very good start” towards reducing the massive trade deficit
ties with long-time the US has with China. The deficit hit US$347 billion last year.
ally the Philippines, but it has
— Goh Sui Noi
come at the expense of the
US’ standing as a champion
of human rights.
Despite pressure from VIETNAM
rights groups for him to take
Doubt over offer of help
M
a tough line on the thousands
killed by police and vigilantes r Trump raised eye-
in Philippine President Rodrigo brows when he told
Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, his Vietnamese coun-
Mr Trump instead settled for mutual flattery. terpart Tran Dai Quang he could
He spoke of his “great relationship” with Mr Duterte, who mediate in the South China Sea
responded by serenading him with a Filipino love song at a gala dispute.
dinner. But the offer, made on Nov
Mr Duterte has come under intense international criticism for 12 during Mr Trump’s state visit
his drugs war, which has led to the police killing more than 3,900 to Hanoi, was largely dismissed
suspects since he took office last year. by analysts and politely set
What Mr Trump brought with him to Manila was his push for aside by regional observers. Hanoi-based analyst Ha Hoang Hop
fair trade. He reiterated the message he sent during last week’s called it a “spontaneous” comment.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Danang, Vietnam, Analysts also noted that there were no surprises in the joint
“that it’s high time the US practise reciprocity”. statement Vietnam and the US issued. Both sides pledged to deepen
There was, however, no clear assurance from Mr Trump that trade and investment, as well as defence cooperation and people-
South-east Asia remains central to US foreign policy. to-people ties.
— Raul Dancel — Tan Hui Yee PHOTOS: REUTERS, AFP
9By Invitation
Joseph Chinyong Liow
Is US engagement back
on track in East Asia?
Trump’s recent Asia
visit suggests new
momentum in
US-Asia ties.
T
ASIA
hat American presidential
visits to East Asia always
assume special significance
hardly needs to be said.
After all, the US has played
the role of linchpin of regional peace
and prosperity since the end of the
Second World War. Even so, seldom
has an American presidential trip to the
region prompted as much anticipation
and apprehension as Mr Donald Trump’s
recently-concluded 12-day tour: his first
as president, and his longest overseas
trip thus far.
Right up to the eve of his trip, many
were still lamenting the absence of accords, cozying up to the Saudi regime,
a coherent strategy of engagement alienating European allies and engaging
that weaved together the tapestry in petulant name-calling with North ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO
of American strategic, economic, Korea’s Mr Kim Jong Un.
diplomatic and political interests in So, against this pattern of apparent What probably also escapes attention
East Asia. Others fretted about more dysfunction, what did Mr Trump’s first is the fact that this trip caps a year
prosaic concerns, such as the President’s foray into the region accomplish? At of extensive engagement with Asia.
sudden tweets and tendency to veer first glance, perhaps not much, since he Consider a comparison of the number
off-script. Anxiety over these portents failed to extract concrete commitments of visits senior Obama and Trump
were rendered more acute by the from China to intensify pressure on administration officials (president, vice-
distractions of controversies bedevilling North Korea and was very much an president, secretaries of state, defence,
his administration. isolated bystander as regional leaders and commerce, US trade representative,
Among most of the mainstream pressed ahead on free trade talks in and national security adviser) made to
American media, one strand of opinion Danang and Manila. Nevertheless, I East Asia in their first year of office.
continues to prevail: whether it is would suggest that despite this, the trip Between January and November 2009,
healthcare, tax reform, or migration – and Mr Trump’s conduct – provided the first year of the Obama presidency,
policy, Mr Trump is simply incapable hopeful signs that there is some method a total of seven visits were made. In
of doing anything right. Murmurs of to the apparent madness, at least as far comparison, 12 visits to the region
dissent within his own party continue to as East Asia is concerned. For starters, (excluding India) have been made by
smart, and investigations over possible adjusting his schedule at the behest of his Trump administration office holders
Russian interference in the presidential advisers so as to participate in the East since January this year.
election, a matter which reared its head Asia Summit – after expressing intent In keeping with the President’s
on the sidelines of November 11’s Asia- to skip the meeting – suggests he may penchant for personalising bilateral
Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) actually listen to those around him, relationships, considerable attention was
meeting and that hangs like the sword a character trait his detractors would understandably given to rapport with
of Damocles over his administration, doubtless be quick to deny. We should his counterparts. Mr Trump is known to
continue to gather pace. further recognise that this is the longest have developed good personal chemistry
Not unlike criticisms of his domestic that an American president has spent with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
policies, much has been made of Mr in Asia since George W. Bush haplessly Abe and, intriguingly, also his Chinese
Trump’s missteps in foreign policy as passed out and vomited on his Japanese counterpart, Mr Xi Jinping. It is clear
well. The President has been taken to host during an exhausting tour of Asia that he sets great store by these personal
task for reneging on the Paris climate in 1992. relationships, even if, especially in the
10By Invitation
case of Mr Xi, their countries remain top of the administration’s Asia agenda their Tokyo meeting to launch several
deeply at odds on a range of issues. for some time. infrastructure investment initiatives
During Mr Trump’s “state visit Although Mr Trump also offered to aimed at providing much-needed
plus” to Beijing, bilateral differences mediate the South China Sea disputes, it alternative financing for regional states
were kept at a prudent remove as he is not likely to be taken up. Meanwhile, starved of options and pulled slowly
spoke effusively of Mr Xi, calling him the administration has expressed its but surely into the Chinese orbit. How
“a very special man”. Rather than in- intention to press for the lifting of all this squares with a “free and open”
veigh against China for “raping” the the sequestration cap for defence so Indo-Pacific then, will be something that
American economy as he did on the as to free up resources to support this will continue to exercise the region.
campaign trail, Mr Trump instead shifted enhanced military presence. Another potentially significant strate-
blame for the more than US$350 billion If security commitments appear gic takeaway from the trip was the Trump
(S$476 billion) trade deficit with China unequivocal, other measures paint administration’s revival of the Quadrilat-
to his predecessors in the White House. a more ambiguous picture, and will eral Dialogue comprising the US, Japan,
In return, Mr Xi proclaimed that bilat- prompt concern. In contrast to the India and Australia, which met at the level
eral ties were at “a new historic starting evident meeting of minds on a security of senior officials on the sidelines of the
point”, a view echoed enthusiastically agenda, Mr Trump struck a discordant Asean summits in Manila.
in the Chinese press and social media. note at Apec when he rehearsed his When originally mooted by Japan
Whether it was diplomatic sangfroid protectionist proclivities on free trade in 2007, it was understandably viewed
or an expression of genuine rapport, even as the 11 remaining signatories of with suspicion from Beijing for its
the fact is that both leaders acquitted the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreed to obliquely anti-China slant. The current
themselves well despite the very real move ahead on a new iteration of the iteration of the “Quad” is likely to
danger that discussions could have easily initiative, sans American participation. elicit a similar response from a China
been derailed. considerably more influential, powerful
So, against this pattern and ambitious than it was a decade ago,
A NEW ASIA of apparent dysfunction, even if this meeting convened only at
what did Mr Trump’s
POLICY? first foray into the region
senior officials’ level. Should the “Quad”
succeed, it might also pose a diplomatic
Progress was also made on the accomplish? At first glance, problem for Asean, for while some
crafting of a strategic edifice around member states may quietly welcome it,
perhaps not much, since he
which Asia policy will be shaped. the fact that it is being pursued parallel
failed to extract concrete
Thus far, the administration has yet to to existing Asean-led institutions raises
complete its national security strategy
commitments from China to
the larger question of Asean’s centrality
within 150 days of assuming office, as intensify pressure on North in the regional security architecture.
mandated by Congress. Following an Korea and was very much an A final issue bears reflection. The
initial announcement by Secretary of isolated bystander as regional outcome of Mr Trump’s Asia trip hints
State Rex Tillerson on the occasion of his leaders pressed ahead on free at an emerging picture of a US pushback
own trip to India last month, Mr Trump trade talks in Danang and against growing Chinese assertiveness
articulated a presumptive strategy for Manila. Nevertheless, I would in the region in both the security and
Asia predicated on the concept of a suggest that despite this, the economic arenas, although in the
“free and open Indo-Pacific”, which will trip – and Mr Trump’s conduct latter instance, it is doing so without
likely displace Barack Obama’s “Pivot – provided hopeful signs that multilateral mechanisms. Whether or
to Asia” – in form if not in substance – in there is some method to the not this effort will succeed is, of course,
Washington’s policy narrative. apparent madness, at least as a different matter. But, taken together
A curious, if somewhat familiar, far as East Asia is concerned. with other issues, it does indicate that
choice of nomenclature for an Asia the Trump administration is aware it is in
policy since it omits mention of “Asia”, This mood even crept into the Da Nang the American interest to remain active
the pronouncement was somewhat Declaration, which included references in, and attentive to, the region.
short on details. But early indicators to “importance of non-discriminatory, Much has been made of Asia policy
are clear that enhanced engagement on reciprocal and mutually advantageous drift and disconnect in the first year of
the security front will be key. trade and investment frameworks,” the embattled Trump presidency. To be
Seized by North Korea’s nuclear “unfair trade practices” and “unfair sure, there is still much to be done, and
and missile development programme, trade subsidies”. indeed, American foreign policy-making
previous statements made on the That the Trump administration will under Mr Trump might still remain
campaign trail hinting that the US continue to pursue a mercantilist ap- unorthodox, even erratic. But even the
would reconsider its commitments to proach to trade with little appetite for harshest critic must admit that his Asia
the security of East Asian allies now economic multilateralism, there should trip could have gone much worse. All
sound like a thing of the dim and be no doubt. Lest we think this is a view things being equal, Mr Trump’s extended
distant past. Instead, American military unique to him, the President has assem- tour of East Asia has offered up the
activities have been ramped up, not bled a team of senior trade officials who prospect of a new momentum to US
only on the Korean peninsula but also not only share his protectionist instincts, engagement in the region.
in the South China Sea, with a stronger but are also working ceaselessly to trans-
naval presence and greater frequency late them into policy.
of freedom of navigation operations. Yet, cognizant of the potential game- stopinion@sph.com.sg
The writer is dean and professor of
Both these issues featured prominently changing effect of China’s ambitious comparative and international politics at
in Mr Trump’s discussions throughout his Belt and Road Initiative, Mr Trump and the S. Rajaratnam School of International
Asia trip, and are likely to stay at the Mr Abe also sought the opportunity of Studies, Nanyang Technological University.
11Give t he
Gift of
PER S PEC T IVE
GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD UP CLOSE. FIND OUT WHAT’S AT STAKE AND WHY IT MATTERS.
Grab a copy at all good bookstores and www.stpressbooks.com.sgRegional Watch
Goh Sui Noi
China Bureau Chief
Xi’s strong
grip on
power causes
uncertainty
How China will
fare with power
centralised in one
man’s hands is up
for debate among
country watchers.
P
ST ILLUSTRATION: MIEL
resident Xi Jinping amassed expedite reform to reach the goal of 1980s; each time it has adopted measures
immense power at the national rejuvenation. that are sometimes regressive but have
recent national congress Professor Yang Dali of Chicago Uni- ultimately kept the economy growing.
of the Chinese Communist versity pointed out that, five years ago, Mr Xi is not likely to face undue
Party (CCP), and has vowed at the end of the administration of for- resistance if his administration can keep
to use it to make China great again. mer president Hu Jintao, “there was a the economy humming along while
However, the path to realising this craving among the Chinese for stronger making sure to spread the wealth and
dream of national rejuvenation – after leadership”. provide social security for the people.
more than a century of humiliation from Mr Hu’s emphasis on collective leader- He already has considerable popular
the 1840 Opium War – is unlikely to ship and consensus building led to relative support for his anti-corruption drive and
be smooth. political inaction that had critics calling policies to alleviate poverty and fight
China’s future, say some analysts, his two five-year terms “the lost decade”. environmental pollution, said Prof Yang.
is fraught with uncertainties not least At the same time, the CCP is a party Mr Xi has also put in place many
because of the concentration of power of nearly 90 million members from technocrats to help achieve his goals,
in one man’s hands. multiple generations and a diversity of he added.
In recent history, China suffered backgrounds with a lot of corruption in However some, like Chinese historian
greatly under the excesses of Mao the official ranks. Zhang Lifan, are worried about a leader
Zedong in his later years; but it also “Mr Xi and some of his colleagues saw with so much power.
benefited much from Deng Xiaoping’s that this tremendous diversity within the Any mistake Mr Xi makes, he said,
bold push for reforms. party was not good for cohesion, for the may cascade down the party ranks as
Both were powerful, visionary leaders, integrity of the party, in the pursuit of no one would dare to cast doubt on any
and Mr Xi is now considered as being in his mission,” said Prof Yang. decision he makes.
their league. He thought that Mr Xi had over- Mr Zhang noted that, at the 19th party
How China will fare under yet corrected in his endeavour to make congress, Mr Xi had also broken with an
another powerful leader is at the heart the party more disciplined and more unwritten norm in failing to name any
of this debate. dedicated to its mission. potential successor to the top decision-
Some have argued that centralised “It feels very regressive to others making body, the Politburo Standing
power is needed to turn China into a especially when information flows are Committee (PSC).
“modern socialist country” that is “pros- shut down, Internet censorship is stepped This, he said, leads to the danger of
perous, strong, democratic, culturally up, crackdowns on dissent are enhanced a power vacuum should the top leader
advanced, harmonious and beautiful”. and so on,” he said. fall ill or a situation arise in which he is
Concentrated power, noted China “If you are a liberal, this is a challeng- unable to lead.
watcher Robert Lawrence Kuhn, is ing moment,” he added. “In such a situation under the CCP
needed to maintain unity and manage Still, he noted, China’s leadership has system, a power struggle could arise,”
the CCP more strictly in order to adapted well to every major crisis since the he warned.
13Regional Watch
In other words, the lack of a succes- While Mr Wang has written that training competent and professional
sion plan spells instability. concentration of power is needed for officials. He also called for stronger
Beyond these worries, Mr Xi’s reforms to happen, he has also said that public participation and rule of law in
ambitions could also face resistance. a democratic system is necessary for a social governance.
“Real resistance” is likely to come country to be modernised. Elsewhere, he has spoken about the
from China’s vast bureaucracy, wrote “Without a highly democratic need to build new think-tanks that can
Professor Pei Minxin of Claremont political system, it is difficult to establish promote “scientific and democratic
McKenna College. oneself as a modernised, strong country decision-making” and “modernisation
He noted that China’s lower and among the advanced people of the of the country’s governing system and
middle officials care more about world,” he wrote. ability”.
raising their privilege and wealth than While not advocating democracy as Some are optimistic about the
promoting ideological goals. the West knows it, he was suggesting prospects for political reform.
Mr Xi has dismantled the system democratic institutions. Political commentator Wu Jiaxiang
of sharing power and spoils among “Wang’s notion of democracy, though believes Mr Xi will allow for a multi-
elite cliques and eliminated the lavish never explicitly defined, appears to be party system and popular elections,
bribes and perks that underwrote one of substantive rather than procedural when conditions are right.
the extravagant lifestyles of these democracy,” wrote China watcher Joseph He noted that, in his report to the
bureaucrats through his anti-corruption Fewsmith in his book, China Since congress, Mr Xi has spoken about
and austerity drives. Tiananmen: The Politics Of Transition. giving more decision-making power
While these bureaucrats may not dis- “Wang seemed more interested in to governments at the provincial level
play their unhappiness openly, “they will building a stable and efficient govern- and below.
do what Chinese bureaucrats have done ment that could make good decisions It is hard to see what Mr Wu envisages
for thousands of years: passively resist based on widespread consultation – what happening given that what is taking
edicts from the top”, wrote Prof Pei. might be called ‘elite democracy’ – than place now is tighter control of the media
In the long term, controls need to be democracy per se. and civil society, and harsher crackdown
eased if China is to avoid a backlash, “For instance, Wang called for on dissent.
some analysts have said. better policy research and brain trusts, But if political reforms do take place,
There are signs of the possibility of powerful and effective administrative Mr Xi will have proven that he has taken
political change. organs, effective propaganda to win the over the mantle of his reformer father,
Among the five newly-promoted trust of the people and better feedback,” Mr Xi Zhongxun, as many had hoped
members of the apical seven-member wrote Professor Fewsmith. he would when he first came to power
PSC is Mr Wang Huning, a political Some of these were called for by in 2012.
theorist who has served two other Mr Xi in his report to the 19th party
leaders of the CCP before Mr Xi: Mr congress, including strengthening the
Jiang Zemin and Mr Hu. governing capacity of the CCP and suinoi@sph.com.sg
The seven men who rule China
China’s Communist Party unveiled a new line-up for its top decision-making body,
the Politburo Standing Committee. Here are the seven members, in order of party hierarchy.
LI KEQIANG, 62 LI ZHANSHU, 67 WANG YANG, 62 WANG HUNING, 62 ZHAO LEJI, 60 HAN ZHENG, 63
• Like Mr Xi, Mr Li was • Ranked No. 3 in the • Mr Wang, like Mr Li • The director of the • In 2000, he became • Widely seen as a
first promoted to the Chinese leadership Keqiang, hails from Policy Research Qinghai governor at the member of the
PSC at the 17th party hierarchy, Mr Li is the Communist Youth Office, a think-tank of age of 42, making him the Shanghai faction led
PRESIDENT XI JINPING, 64 congress in 2007. tipped to head the League faction, also the party’s Central youngest governor in the by former president
• Mr Xi became the top leader in • Five years later, Mr National People’s known as tuanpai. Committee, is a close country at the time. His Jiang Zemin, Mr Han
the Chinese Communist Party Xi succeeded Congress, China’s • Seen as a aide who is often promotion to Qinghai party was Mr Xi’s deputy
(CCP) hierarchy in late 2012. President Hu Jintao Parliament. significant figure seen beside Mr Xi boss three years later when the latter
Beginning his second five-year and Mr Li succeeded • His friendship with familiar with foreign during important made him the country’s served a brief stint
term as the party chief on Oct Premier Wen Jiabao. Mr Xi goes back to policy, he headed the meetings and youngest provincial party as Shanghai party
25, he has amassed enough overseas trips. secretary, at age 45. boss in 2007.
authority to be considered the • His key portfolios the 1980s. Chinese delegation at
• The former dean of • Elected head of the • The Shanghai party
most powerful Chinese leader include economic • As director of the the first US-China
Comprehensive Fudan University Law party’s top anti-graft chief is likely to be
since Deng Xiaoping. management and CCP Central
finance. But Mr Li, Committee’s General Economic Dialogue School is also the agency, the Central the first executive
• In a break with party norms, has had his power Office, Mr Li is Mr Xi’s in July. brains behind Mr Xi’s Committee for Discipline vice-premier, who will
he did not name potential reduced with the chief of staff and “Chinese Dream” Inspection, Mr Zhao will be the point man for
successors to the Politburo setting up of often accompanies campaign. ensure that Mr Xi’s the Joint Council for
Standing Committee (PSC), high-level steering him on foreign trips. anti-graft campaign is Bilateral Cooperation,
fanning speculation that he is committees headed carried out more the highest-level
planning for a third term in 2022. by Mr Xi. extensively, as well as forum between China
help to institutionalise and Singapore.
party supervision.
Sources: THE STRAITS TIMES, BLOOMBERG, REUTERS PHOTOS: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG, REUTERS STRAITS TIMES GRAPHIC
14Regional Watch
All eyes on...
under Mr Xi that his political career rose
meteorically.
He is Mr Xi’s top foreign policy aide,
a constant companion on overseas tours
and part of his inner circle.With his pro-
motion to the PSC, Mr Wang is likely to
WANG HUNING, 62 take over the portfolio of retired prop-
Lim Yan • Ranks No. 5 in aganda chief Liu Yunshan, and become
Liang PSC. secretary of the CCP Secretariat.
In Mr Wang’s early writings are
China Correspondent • Principal treatises calling for the party to focus
Chinese
Communist on high-level corruption.
Brains behind Party theorist
and law
He is also an advocate of a strong
central authority - for economic and
the ‘China professor.
• Key architect
social stability - over democracy and
individual liberty.
Dream’ behind Mr His ideas have influenced Mr Xi, said
Beijing-based analyst Jude Blanchette of
F
Hu Jintao’s Scientific Outlook on
Development, Mr Jiang Zemin’s research group Conference Board.
or decades, Mr Wang Huning Three Represents and Mr Xi’s own “We see a consistent theme: Clawing
worked his magic quietly “China Dream”. power back to Beijing (and) cadres
behind the scenes as an throughout the country now pay homage
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
adviser to three top Chinese to the ‘core’ of the party’s Central
leaders. experience in regional party leadership Committee, Xi Jinping,” he wrote.
The political theorist is said to have positions. Professor Steve Tsang of the School
played a key role in coming up with He has served mainly as head of the of Oriental and African Studies said Mr
Mr Hu Jintao’s Scientific Outlook on Central Policy Research Office, a party Wang is “someone Xi can rely on to
Development and Mr Jiang Zemin’s think-tank. provide ideological leadership on his
Three Represents – the duo’s signature “He may be the most academic Polit- behalf”.
political ideologies. buro Standing Committee member in the He said:“With no power base of his
He is also behind President Xi party’s history,” said East Asian Institute own, he is totally dependent on Xi for
Jinping’s “China Dream” concept, of a analyst Chen Gang, noting that the CCP his power and office, so Xi can rely on
rejuvenated and powerful China. usually prefers PSC members to have him despite Wang having served Hu and
The spotlight is now on the 62-year- experience in the cities and provinces. Jiang.”
old, who has risen to the apical Politburo Mr Wang, a former law dean at
Standing Committee of the Chinese Shanghai’s Fudan University was plucked
Communist Party (CCP) without from academia by Mr Jiang. But it was yanliang@sph.com.sg
the current fourth-ranking vice-premier
LIU HE, 65 Ma Kai to oversee economic issues.
Chong Koh • Chief Mr Liu has been a key driver of
Ping economic
adviser
supply-side reforms such as reducing
overcapacity in steel and coal, and excess
China Correspondent
promoted to housing stock.
25-member He was believed to have spoken
Economic Politburo.
• Seen as
on behalf of Mr Xi in an article in the
party-run People’s Daily in May last year,
adviser who’s forerunner to criticising government officials for delays
become a state in carrying out supply-side reforms.
‘crucial’ to Xi councillor or vice-premier given his Mr Liu cited former Singapore prime
role as mastermind behind major
minister Lee Kuan Yew in an article
published in 2008. He wrote that Mr Lee
S
economic and financial policies.
had told him China’s greatest challenge
ixty-five-year-old Liu He and PHOTO: REUTERS
was urbanisation, when they met at the
Chinese President Xi Jinping The Harvard-educated Mr Liu is Davos Forum in 1993. “Lee Kuan Yew
grew up in the same Beijing director of the Office of the Central is right,” he added.
neighbourhood. Leading Group on Financial and Hong Kong’s South China Morning
The Chinese leader, who is Economic Affairs, a role he took on in Post has reported that Mr Liu could
a year younger, had introduced his chief 2013. He was made a member of the replace Mr Wang Huning as party
economic adviser as “very important” to Central Committee in 2012. theorist, after the latter was promoted
him, when former US national security This group is personally overseen by to the Politburo Standing Committee.
adviser Thomas Donilon visited Beijing Mr Xi, and serves as a command centre “If Liu takes over Wang’s old job, he
in 2013, reported The Wall Street Journal. for the country’s macroeconomic policy. will provide ideological justifications
Mr Liu has now been promoted to Analysts say Mr Liu’s promotion for whatever Xi intends to say,” said
the powerful 25-person Politburo and is signals a continuity in current policies Professor Steve Tsang of the School
seen as a future state councillor or vice- for the next five years. of Oriental and African Studies at the
premier, given his role as the mastermind Peking University economics professor University of London.
behind major economic and financial Cao Heping told The Straits Times that
policies. Mr Liu is most likely to take over from kohping@sph.com.sg
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