Has China won? This provocative question is the title of one of Kishore Mahbubani’s latest books.
Prof. Mahbubani is a high-ranking diplomat and is considered the most important advocate of an Asian perspective on the world in the 21st century. Mahbubani has served as president of the UN Security Council and as ambassador of Singapore to the United Nations. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Global Neighbours hosted this event at the Industrie-Club Düsseldorf on September 20th, 2022 to discuss with Kishore Mahbubani how the future of global cooperation will develop in a world of growing tensions between China and the West, and what this means for business, politics, and the international order.
Participants joined Prof. Mahbubani for a dinner and a discussion of the dramatic changes in the world in the 21st century.
Prof. Mahbubani argued that the past 200 years of western domination have been artificial, and that Asia has been learning from the West great concepts and ideas, such as free markets and free trade, which led to a fast and ongoing return of Asia in terms of global power and significance. However, as Asian countries and especially China have been gaining power, the US has been trying to prevent their rise, which can be seen in current geopolitical contests that prevent cooperation. Prof. Mahbubani emphasized that the whole world is interconnected, and that it is crucial to have a mindset change towards working together on global challenges such as climate change. He closed his talk by advocating for people around the world to show mutual respect and to learn from each other. Now is the time for Europe to learn from Asia.
You can read Prof. Mahbubani’s interview with the Editor-in-Chief of Handelsblatt in German here.
Organizer: Global Neighbours GmbH/e.V.
Guest Speaker: Prof. Kishore Mahbubani
Date & Location: 20 Sep 2022 at the Industrie Club Düsseldorf