REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (OAP)
Globalization is rapidly changing due to technological change, the return of trade and industrial policy activism, and growing geopolitical tensions. This two-day conference—co-organized by the IMF and the Center for Advanced Research in Finance at the University of Tokyo—offered a platform to discuss the latest research insights and practical implications on the current state of globalization. The conference featured work on trade, financial and other flows as well as the policies that underpin globalization and ended with a policy panel on the future of globalization.
Participation was by invitation only.
Additional conference details are also available on the university’s website. Click here for information about the Academic Conference, and here for the Policy Panel.
Agenda:
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Friday, April 4, 2025 In-person: Kojima Hall, The University of Tokyo / Virtual: Zoom ** Time shown below is in Japan Standard Time (UTC/GMT +9) |
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| Opening Session | |
| 9:00 AM |
Welcome Remarks: Akihiko Yoshida, Director, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (OAP), IMF |
| 9:05 AM |
Opening Speech: Atsushi Mimura, Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Japan Ministry of Finance |
| 9:20 AM |
Keynote Address: “Globalization in Flux: Navigating Uncertainty, Embracing Opportunity” Richard Baldwin, IMD Business School Q&A |
| 10:20 AM | Coffee Break |
| Session 1: Trade and Financial Patterns | |
| 10:40 AM |
Moderator: Anne Oeking, OAP, IMF Presentations: “Changing Global Linkages” Andrea Filippo Presbitero, Research Department (RES), IMF Petia Borissova Topalova, RES, IMF “Geopolitical Risk and Trade” Alen Mulabdic, World Bank “Bilateral Trade in Services” Robert Zymek, RES, IMF Discussant: Heiwai Tang, University of Hong Kong Q&A |
| 12:20 PM |
Lunch Break |
| Session 2: Supply Chains, Resilience and Structural Transformation |
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| 1:30 PM | Moderator: Petia Borissova Topalova, RES, IMF Presentations: “Fragmentation and the Future of GVCs” Alessandro Borin, European Central Bank/Bank of Italy Michele Mancini, European Central Bank/Bank of Italy “The International Footprint of Global Firms and the Realignment of Supply Chains” Han Qiu, Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Hyun Song Shin, BIS Leanne Si Ying Zhang, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) “Structural Transformation in Asia and the Pacific” Rahul Giri, Asia and Pacific Department (APD), IMF Chikako Baba, APD, IMF Discussant: Zoe Zhang, The University of Tokyo Q&A |
| 3:10 PM | Coffee Break |
| Session 3: Policies | |
| 3:30 PM |
Moderator: Taiji Furusawa, The University of Tokyo Presentations: “China plus 1” Caroline Freund, School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego “Industrial Policy” Samuel Jaime Pienknagura Loor, RES, IMF “Domestic Policies for Adjustment” Prachi Mishra, Ashoka University Discussant: Ayako Obashi, Keio University Q&A |
| 5:10 PM |
End of Day 1 |
| Saturday, April 5, 2025 In-person: Kojima Hall (Session 4), Fukutake Hall (Policy Panel), The University of Tokyo / Virtual: Zoom ** Time shown below is in Japan Standard Time (UTC/GMT +9) |
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| Session 4: Implications for the Trade and Monetary System |
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| 9:00 AM |
Moderator: Ken Kang, Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR), IMF Presentations: “Industrial Revolutions and Global Imbalances” Alexander Monge-Naranjo, European University Institute (EUI) Kenichi Ueda, The University of Tokyo Konstantin Kucheryavvy, City University of New York “Geopolitics and the Trade System” Michele Ruta, SPR, IMF “International Monetary System” Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley Discussant: Sangyup Choi, Yonsei University Q&A |
| 10:40 AM |
Closing Remarks: Kenichi Ueda, The University of Tokyo |
| 10:45 AM |
Coffee Break |
| Policy Panel: The Future of Globalization – Adapting to Shifting International Dynamics | |
| 11:05 AM |
Moderator: Richard Baldwin, IMD Business School Panelists: Veerathai Santiprabhob, Former Governor, Bank of Thailand Hideyasu Tamura, Deputy Director-General for International Trade Negotiation, Trade Policy Bureau, Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Xinquan Tu, Dean, China Institute for WTO Studies, University of International Business and Economics Beatrice Weder di Mauro, Geneva Graduate Institute, President of Center for Economic Policy Research Q&A |
| 12:35 PM |
End of Day 2 |
* Presenters are underlined in papers with multiple co-authors.
Conference organizers: Anne Oeking (OAP, IMF), Michele Ruta (SPR, IMF), Kenichi Ueda (CARF, UTokyo).
