East Asia Forum

4 weeks ago | eastasiaforum.org | James Laurenceson

‘Not … a friendly act’. ‘A very bad day for our relationship with the United States’. ‘Not how allies should treat one another’. Such were the descriptors that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his ministers used to announce that the United States had hit local steel and aluminium producers with 25 per cent tariffs on 12 March 2025. On the explanation that Washington had provided — that Australian steel and aluminium was a threat to US national security — the replies were just as blunt.

1 month ago | eastasiaforum.org | Jayant Menon

As the 2 April 2025 deadline approaches, it remains unclear whether Trump’s product-by-product tariff matching policy will create fairness or increased costs, implementation nightmares and potential trade wars.

1 month ago | eastasiaforum.org | Kerry Brown

For decades, the annual convening of the National People’s Congress (NPC) — held alongside a meeting of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to make the ‘Two Sessions’ — has been a matter of highly orchestrated theatre. There were moments in the 1990s, including when a third of NPC delegates voted against the Three Gorges Dam project. But those days of public displays of differences in opinion are long gone.

1 month ago | eastasiaforum.org | Madison Cartwright

Under Trump 2.0, Australia must reflect on its economic dependence on China.

1 month ago | eastasiaforum.org | Bolor Lkhaajav

Mongolian policymakers are embarking on energy reform that aims to diversify energy sources and work on issues like improving energy infrastructure and decreasing air pollution. The government has proposed ‘14 mega projects’ which will require support from Mongolia’s immediate neighbours — Russia and China — and are also heavily dependent on other nations for financial and technical assistance. These areas are an inseparable aspect of Mongolia’s transition to energy reform.